


What Once Was Mine

by midas_touch_of_angst



Series: Flower Gleam and Glow [2]
Category: Animaniacs, Frozen (Disney Movies), Pinky and the Brain, Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: ADHD, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Disney Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Frozen (Disney Movies) Fusion, Alternate Universe - Tangled (2010) Fusion, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Wakko Warrner, Dot Warner has ADHD, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Family, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Inspired by Tangled (2010), Magic, More tags will be added as I write, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Rivalry, Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29843196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midas_touch_of_angst/pseuds/midas_touch_of_angst
Summary: The Warnerstock royal family are on a road trip, but unfortunately, it's not as fun as they'd hoped. See, Dot's sundrop magic (and thirty feet of hair) have returned to her, apparently in order to join with the mysterious moonstone that rests in an enchanted forest covered in fog. Following the dangerous black rocks, as well as a call that Yakko can't get out of his head, the siblings and their found family are hoping to get this all over with so they can get back to their lives.But a mysterious, dangerous force is trying to keep them from finding the moonstone too soon, for she wants the magic for herself. And she'll do anything to get it- including driving the siblings apart.Tangled/Frozen AU but it's like 99% found family hurt/comfort, part two!UPDATES DAILY!
Relationships: Brain/Pinky (Pinky and the Brain), Dot Warner & Wakko Warner, Dot Warner & Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner, Dot Warner & Yakko Warner, Rita & Dot Warner, Rita & Runt (Animaniacs), Skippy Squirrel & Slappy Squirrel, The Brain & Dot Warner, The Brain & Dot Warner & Pinky, Wakko Warner & Yakko Warner, dot warner & pinky
Series: Flower Gleam and Glow [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2192826
Comments: 63
Kudos: 71





	1. All is Found

**CHAPTER ONE - ALL IS FOUND**

It was about six years before the whole “moonstone incident,” when Yakko awoke in the middle of the night to five-year-old Wakko tugging on his fur, whimpering. This freaked him out quite a bit, and he sat up, pushing his brother away and asking what on  _ earth  _ he was doing in his room? To which Wakko began to cry, saying he’d had a nightmare, and then made it clear he didn’t intend to leave until he’d calmed down. Yakko, who did not want his brother in his room for reasons he’d  _ thought _ had been made clear to his parents, protested, telling him that he just needed to grow up a little. And then Wakko cried more, and Yakko felt awful and tried to calm him down without freaking out himself. 

It took a few minutes before Angel arrived, leaning against the door and sighing, having been fetched by a nervous servant. 

“It’s two in the morning, boys.” she said tiredly. 

“Wakko won’t leave!” Yakko announced, pointing at his wailing brother. 

“I hadda bad dream!” Wakko cried. 

“Mom,  _ make him leave!”  _

Angel glanced at Yakko’s fearful expression, and sighed again, before moving over to her younger son, kneeling in front of him. 

“Wakko, why don’t we go get some food? Does that still calm you down?” 

“I don’t wanna! The monsters are in the cupboards and they’re gonna eat me!” 

Angel sighed, and glanced at the door, where the servant who’d fetched her was waiting. “Can you please go check the kitchens for monsters?” The servant shrugged and left, and she turned back. “See, the nice lady’s going to check over for you.” 

_ “They’ll eat her!”  _

“Oh no, the palace staff are trained to hunt monsters. They’ll be alright.” Wakko bit his lip, still shaking, and Angel sighed and held out her arms, picking him up. “Come on, let’s go to your room-” 

“What if the monsters come for Yakko?” 

Yakko flinched, curling up and hugging his knees, and he said, “That won’t be a problem, just go.” 

Sadness flickered in Angel’s eyes, and after a moment, she sat on the edge of Yakko’s bed, bouncing Wakko on her knee. “Wakko, if I tell you a story, will you go back to sleep?” 

“Maybe.” Wakko said, which meant  _ yes.  _

_ “Mom!”  _

“Just a little story, Yakko.” Angel said. “Then we can all go back to bed.” 

“Can’t Dad just come in and sing to him?” 

“We should let him sleep. Your father’s… having an off day.” 

“You mean he’s all sad and won’t talk to anyone?” Wakko said bluntly. 

“Wakko, don’t be rude.” 

“‘M not!” 

“Do you want a story or not?” 

“I do! I do! Don’t go!” 

She sighed and pulled Wakko closer, turning and holding out an arm for Yakko. “Come on, you can cuddle, too.” 

“I’d rather not.” Yakko said, crossing his arms and staring at the ceiling. 

Angel sighed but didn’t press it, and turned back to Wakko. “Now, let’s keep the story short, your brother’s  _ very  _ tired. Do you want-” 

“Enchanted forest, Mummy!” Wakko pleaded, leaning against her chest and hugging her. “Enchanted forest!” 

Yakko blinked, his curiosity temporarily overcoming his trepidation. “Enchanted forest?” 

“When Mummy got saved from monsters!” 

“They weren’t monsters, Wakko, the spirits were just cranky.” 

“Like Yakko!” 

Yakko groaned. “Are you sure you can’t make him leave?” 

“Wakko, shh.” Wakko quieted, sticking out his tongue, and Angel held out her arm again for Yakko. When he still didn’t scoot over, she instead hugged her younger son closer, and said, “I was not much older than your big brother. But I didn’t have any siblings, so it was just me and my parents in this big ol’ castle.” 

“Did they have a lotta ‘off-days’ too?” Wakko asked quietly. 

“Shh!” Yakko insisted. “Let her finish.” 

Angel sighed, waiting until they quieted down, and then continued. “They were often busy, yes, but so was I, because I knew I was going to be Queen someday. I just… didn’t know how soon.” 

Yakko scooched slightly farther, a memory flickering in his mind of the idea of an enchanted forest story, and his heart sinking when he realized that  _ his little sister should be here. She should hear the story, too.  _ But she was gone now, because of him, and… 

“We had a very strong alliance with the Elemental Forest, then.” Angel explained. “But we didn’t communicate much, so I was very excited when I was finally old enough to go on a traveling party to share news.” 

“Tell Yakk about the enchanted forest!” 

“I’m getting there, sweetheart, shh.” Wakko nodded seriously and cuddled against her again, and she said, “We called it the Elemental Forest because the people living there believed that spirits ruled their land; spirits of earth, water, air and fire.” 

Yakko hesitated, and then asked, “Did they?” 

She gave him a side glance, and then said, “Yes. But they weren’t like… well, they weren’t very nice.” 

Yakko blinked. “What happened?” 

“It started out fine.” she said, scooting farther on the bed and letting Wakko curl up in her lap. “A bit earlier in the year than meetings usually went, but apparently the leaders had something important to discuss. Our whole party was there- our guards, our diplomats, several council members-” 

“Like Scratchy?” 

Angel flinched. “N-no, he joined the council when I got back. Cause… well, nobody else really made it out of the forest.” 

“...oh.” 

“Don’t get to the scary part  _ yet.”  _ Wakko said. “Talk about the magic.” 

Angel smiled, lifting Wakko a bit, and said, “We never saw the earth or fire spirits, but I swore I saw the water spirit when our party traveled past the sea. A large horse, made of shimmering water, prancing across the waves and watching over the whole ocean.” 

“Whoa.” Yakko said. 

“I drew it once!” Wakko said, looking up at his mother. “I should show you!” 

“Maybe later.” 

Wakko looked a bit upset. “How soon later?” 

“Later. Now shh, or I won’t finish the story.” Wakko zipped his lips and hugged her side, burying his face in her fur. “As for the wind, she was always there. She took no form for herself, and the legends say it was because she didn’t want to be tied down by anything, even a basic appearance. So she would simply move past, scattering the leaves around her, which was the only way you knew she was there.” 

“How’d you tell the difference between normal wind and magic wind?” 

“We couldn’t really. The forest-dwellers claimed they could, though. Maybe they did. But I think she might’ve been curious about me, because I remember leaves blowing into my face quite a bit.” 

Wakko giggled at that image. 

“We made it to their home, and the leaders left to discuss news. I wanted to go in, but Father wouldn’t let me, so I wandered the camp. I don’t… remember much, to be honest. But I remember trying to chase the wind to see if it was really a spirit.” she smiled a little. “I also remember peering through the trees and swearing I could see the wind lift a child into the air. Letting him fly without wings.” 

“I wanna fly.” Wakko muttered, but Yakko’s focus was on their mother, engrossed by the story. 

“But before I could see for myself, that’s when everything went wrong. I don’t know what happened, but the forest people began to attack us. I remember being so confused, so upset- my guards tried to get me away from everything, but they had their hands full, they had much more numbers in their own homeland. My parents… they never made it out.” 

She closed her eyes, trying to push back what must have been horrible memories. Yakko shuddered, hugging himself. 

“And then the spirits became angered, at all of us.” she said. “There was fire bursting forth from the ground, the stream erupting into furious fountains, wind pummeling us, throwing us everywhere. And I started running, trying to get as far away as I could. But something hit me, and I fell, and… I must have passed out. I thought for sure, before everything went dark, that I would definitely die that day.” 

“And did you?” Wakko asked. 

Angel blinked, her mind somewhere else. “I remember feeling… like I was being lifted up. And someone was singing. A simple, but beautiful call. And then I woke up at the palace. I’d been found by an orphaned peasant boy just outside the kingdom, and he brought me all the way home by himself. I was the only one who made it out of the woods.” 

“Why did they attack you?” Yakko asked. 

“We don’t know.” she said quietly. “When they went back to the forest to look it over, they found a thick fog had descended over it completely. It kept anyone from entering… or leaving.” 

“Is that the foggy forest just over the mountains, then?” Yakko asked, remembering it from his maps. 

“Yes. It’s just beyond where we found the…” her face fell, and she cuddled Wakko closer. Yakko’s ears drooped.

Wakko, not noticing their sadness, said, “And tell ‘im about the boy who brought you back!” 

“Well, he was welcomed into the palace.” she smiled a little, rubbing her hand over Wakko’s fur, trying to raise her sad voice above a whisper. “For saving the future Queen. And so even after my parents died, I still wasn’t alone.” 

“And then you got married.” Wakko smiled as he let out a small yawn. 

“That we did.” 

Yakko looked up at her. “But who saved you in the forest? Who got you outta there?” 

Angel hesitated, and then said, “Nobody knows.” 

“I wish we did.” Yakko said quietly. “Cause whoever it was, I love them for saving my Mom.” 

Angel smiled and reached over to ruffle his fur. Yakko only flinched a little, still uncomfortable at the touch, and then he perked his ear up upon hearing something in the doorway. He turned, and smiled as their father waved over. Wakko smiled brightly, his tail wagging against the bed. “Daddoo!” 

Angel looked up with surprise, but also with a soft smile. “You didn’t have to wake up, dear.” 

“I just wanted to make sure…” 

“Nobody’s hurt. Promise.” 

William smiled a little, relieved, and then said, “Are you sure? I heard something about monsters in the kitchen?” Wakko giggled a little. “So we used some ‘monster-go-away’ spray in there, so we should all be safe, and little boys should be going back to bed.” 

Wakko curled up against his mother again, and said, “Can you sing to us, Daddoo?” 

“Wakko.” Angel said sternly. “You just got a story, and your father’s tired, too-” 

“It’s fine, Angel, I don’t mind.” he said, before moving over and sitting beside Yakko. “If it makes them go to sleep…” 

“Please sing, Daddoo!” Despite the fact Wakko was yawning and stretching, his tail was going a mile a minute at the prospect of being sung to sleep by his father, who he hadn’t seen all day- all week, honestly, he’d been so busy recently… 

“Alright then. Cuddle close, scooch in.” 

Yakko hesitated, but his father pulled him in, against his side, and slowly the young prince let himself relax a little. 

_ “Where the north wind meets the sea _

_ There’s a river full of memories _

_ Sleep, my darling, safe and sound _

_ For in this river, all is found…”  _

“If you two don’t shut up,” warned fifteen-year-old Yakko, climbing up and swinging from the middle bunk of their frosty bed, “I’m gonna encase you in ice until morning.” 

“I’d like to see you try.” Dot said, sticking out her tongue. 

Yakko slid beside his giggling siblings, flopping onto his stomach. He’d made them the bunk bed just a few days ago, and he was starting to feel like his siblings were abusing their ‘we get to hang out all night’ power. “Look, I know we’re having a fun little sleepover, but we’ve got a big day tomorrow, we’re gonna start packing for the trip-” 

“We can’t sleep.” Dot pouted. “We’re too excited to find out where this stupid ‘sister kingdom’ is.” 

“And the moonstone!” Wakko added. 

“And the magical destiny rocks!” 

“Yeah!” 

“Okay, but you wanna help out tomorrow.” Yakko said. “And you can’t do that if you’re falling asleep all over the place.” 

“We function  _ amazingly  _ on little sleep.” 

“Last time you had no sleep, you tried to hide thirty feet of fur inside a giant hat.” 

“And it  _ almost  _ worked.” 

“Speaking of which, if your hair drops down onto us and wakes us up again, we’re kicking you to bottom bunk.” 

“No, you won’t. I’m too adorable to punish.” 

“I’m gonna freeze your fur into an ice block!” 

_ “Try it, I dare you!”  _

Wakko leaned back as his siblings playfully fought. When they stopped arguing and started giggling, he said, “But really, Yakko, we can’t sleep. We’re not tired.” 

“What do you want me to do, knock you into a coma?” 

“Sounds festive.” 

Yakko sighed, then turned to Dot. “And you’re not tired, either?” She shook her head. “What do you do to get tired?” 

“I never really had this problem before.” she admitted. “Whenever I couldn’t sleep before I’d just, like, paint. Having new things to look forward to in the morning is… new to me.” 

Wakko put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and then said, “Whenever I needed to sleep, I’d eat til I passed out.” 

“We’re saving that food for travel, though.” Dot reminded him. 

“I know, that’s why I’m awake  _ now.”  _

Yakko considered, and then said, “Whenever I was tired, Mom and Dad would sing. They’d do that with you, too, Wakko- you remember, right?” 

Wakko considered, cocking his head to the side and letting his ears flop onto his face. “When I was sick, yeah.” 

“No, no, like when they’d come in at night to tuck you in and-” 

“Do you remember what they’d sing? Cause I keep forgetting the words.” 

“Of course.” Yakko nodded. He leaned back, onto Wakko’s pillow, and held out his arms. “Cuddle close, scooch in.” 

Dot squealed and raced over, leaning against her brother’s side and sliding under his arm. Wakko did the same, his tail wagging up and down and thumping against the wood of the bunk bed. 

“Now, this is a stupid old song.” Yakko informed them. “Dad said his parents would sing it to him before they died, and their parents before them, yada-yada.” 

“And now you’re gonna sing it or I’m pushing you off the bunk bed.” 

“Bet?” 

“Just sing,” Wakko said, leaning farther against him and making his biggest puppy-eyes.  _ “Please?”  _

“I thought Dot was the cute one.” 

“I am!” 

“Alright, alright. Scooch in closer.” 

His siblings leaned up against him, and Yakko smiled, running his hands over their fur. He never thought he’d be able to do this, to hang out with them and hug them and sing them to sleep. But he was here now, and he wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

_ “Where the north wind meets the sea,  _

_ There’s a river full of memories. _

_ Sleep, my darlings, safe and sound _

_ For in this river, all is found…” _

Wakko curled up more against him, wrapping his arms around his brother and pressing his face against his brother’s fur, content just to cuddle with his siblings. Dot smiled, hearing this song for the first time in her brother’s happy, lovely voice, excited to experience something so special to their family, something she missed in those ten years she was gone. 

_ “In her waters, deep and true _

_ Lie the answers, and a path for you _

_ Dive down deep into her sound _

_ But not too far, or you’ll be drowned.”  _

He heard Wakko’s soft purrs, and knew his brother was already lost in a dream. He’d been falling asleep a lot faster since he’d unfrozen, and a lot more often. He was still recovering, and he needed his rest. Yakko slowly slid Wakko off of him, tucking him in as Dot swung up to her top bunk. Yakko then climbed up beside her, and she cuddled against him again. 

“What’s the song about?” she asked. 

“Old legend Dad used to tell me about.” Yakko said, as he helped Dot pull her hair back up into the bunk. “When he was little, his parents would tell these tales about a special river, called Ahtohallan, that held all the answers to the past. So we all know what we’re part of.” 

“That’d be nice.” Dot murmured, yawning a little as she leaned against her oldest brother. “You just go to one place and you never have to wonder about the past again.” 

“Yeah, that  _ would _ be nice.” Yakko smiled, rubbing his nose against hers. “We haven’t got that, but we  _ have  _ got a moonstone to find. So get some sleep, sunshine, okay?” 

Dot giggled, and Yakko held her close again. 

_ “Yes, she will sing to those who’ll hear _

_ And in her song, all magic flows _

_ But can you brave what you most fear?  _

_ Can you face what the river knows?”  _

For a moment, Yakko was nine years old again, and leaning against his father, curled against his fur, with his mother on the edge of the bed and holding his sleeping baby brother, and for just a little bit of time, long enough to hear a beautiful, ancient song, they could forget everything. 

_ “Where the north wind meets the sea _

_ There’s a family full of memory _

_ Come, my darling, homeward bound _

_ When all is lost… then all is found.”  _


	2. Next Stop, Anywhere

**CHAPTER TWO - NEXT STOP, ANYWHERE**

_ “So this is Norita’s little angel.”  _

_ A hand moved down her fur, growing younger and smoother as the glow increased. But its fingers raked through, scratching and tugging and holding her back.  _

_ It just kept getting brighter and brighter, even though there was no song to be heard. Instead, just the whispers, the dark voices right in her ears. _

_ “Dottie, darling. I’m not getting any younger down here.”  _

_ “I’m just here to help you.”  _

_ “I love you  _ most.” 

_ She tried to run, but her ankles were chained to the floor, the metal cutting into her paws; she had to be bleeding, she had to be- it hurt so much, her feet ached, and then she looked down and her hands were locked together, too. She tried to scream, but no sound came out.  _

_ There was a burst, an explosion, and she looked up to see a black rock ahead of her, springing from the darkness. Then another, and another, And she twisted this way and that, struggling against the hands still pulling at her fur, trying to escape, but the rocks rose high, and the hands were too strong, and she could see reflections in the stone. Reflections of the mice, lying still, and Yakko running, running away from them, and Wakko, frozen completely… and she couldn’t heal them anymore. She couldn’t heal anyone.  _

_ She tried to leap away, only to be dragged back, the chains shortening, the hands gripping too hard.  _

_ “You know how I feel about the jumping.”  _

_ She still couldn’t scream.  _

_ “See? See what happens out there? You should’ve just stayed  _ put.” 

_ Her hair was yanked again, but this time she fell, and it felt like she was falling forever- falling, falling, falling, picking up speed as she went, the world shining too bright. It was blinding. It was horrifying. And she couldn’t even cry.  _

_ “You should have known, Dottie. Mother knew  _ best!” 

Dot sat up in her bunk, gasping for air. It took her a moment to reorient herself- she wasn’t falling. She wasn’t falling. She  _ was okay,  _ she was in her top bunk, her brothers were sleeping below her, and her- 

Her fur… 

Her hair had flown up into the air, standing on end, floating. The floating instantly brought back a rush of memories, of her fur going dark and her mind going numb as everything crumbled around her, and she swiftly grabbed at whatever strands of hair she could reach, tugging them back down. Her fur eventually did flop back down, falling naturally over the edge of her bunk and pooling onto the floor. 

Dot breathed a sigh of relief, still trying to calm herself down. She gripped the edges of her blankets, reminding herself she was home, she was safe, she wasn’t there anymore. 

Of course, she was about to yeet herself right back into dangerous territory. But it would be okay. Her siblings were gonna be there, and Yakko was happy with himself, and Wakko wasn’t going to die. This was going to be fine. It was all going to be  _ fine. _

Her false mother couldn’t hurt her now. 

She slowly slid down the ladder, ignoring her brother’s snores, and gathered up her fur. She’d have to pull that back into a ponytail before… oh! They were leaving today, yes. Yeah. 

She moved over to her dresser, picking up her beads and beginning to thread her hair, the way Wakko had come up with for her. It was a great help just to have her hair up, out of the way; she hadn’t been allowed to before, it felt like a little rebellion. A little bit of spite that could pull through. 

“I’m out.” she whispered, pulling her beads. “I’m out, I’m free, I’m safe, I’m loved.” She repeated those words, over and over, until there was a soft knock on the door. Or, well, a thump. Runt probably was banging his head against it.

“Dot, hon? Are you packed?” came Rita’s voice.

Dot took a breath, turned and said, “Yeah! I’ll wake my bros up, and we’ll get going!” 

Dot was told to pack only the essentials, so of course her luggage filled half of their caravan’s storage space. 

“You know Scratchy said we won’t be going far.” Yakko said as they headed back into the castle, holding hands. 

She skipped along beside him, shrugging. “Always good to be prepared!” 

“He didn’t even seem to think we’d be gone  _ long.”  _

“I’m sorry, do you want to be stranded in the wilderness  _ without  _ art supplies? I didn’t think so.” 

“Touche.” 

He held open the meeting room’s door for her, and she skipped in and immediately ran forwards, leapt into Scratchansniff’s arms, and gave him a greeting kiss. “Scratchy! How ya been?” 

Most of the traveling party was already in the room; Buttons, guarding the door with a wagging tail, with Mindy sitting beside him and playing with some action figures to keep her distracted. Sitting in the middle of the table, watching with interest as Scratchansniff tried to get Dot off of him and onto the ground, were Pinky and the Brain, with the latter already going over a large map held open by heavy cups. Rita lay beside them, already half-asleep, while Runt sat under the table and chewed on some kind of toy. Wakko, meanwhile, was doing a handstand atop a chair, his tail wagging as his siblings entered his view. 

“Morning, Scratchy. So where are we taking our lovely vacay?” Yakko said, pulling out a chair and using it to climb onto the table and sit on the edge. 

Scratchansniff finally succeeded in pulling the princess off of him, and as he dropped her to the floor, he said, “First of all, why are you all already  _ packed?  _ You haven’t even heard where you’re going yet-” 

“We’re heading out  _ a-sap.” _ Yakko said, kicking his legs. “We told you- we don’t want those rocks to show up here. They keep following Dot-” 

“So we’re gonna head to the moonstone so they don’t end up anywhere else.” Dot shrugged. “They’re indestructible so we  _ really  _ don’t want them busting into the kingdom and ruining the architecture.” 

“Really busts the feng shui of the place.” Rita said. 

Pinky nodded at her. “I  _ too _ think we should protect the mushrooms.” Brain bopped him on the head, which caused Pinky to burst into laughter. 

Scratchansniff put his head in his hands, and slowly sat down. “You may not even wish to go.” 

“We don’t really have another option, here.” Yakko said, flopping onto his stomach on the table. “Unless you  _ want  _ a kingdom of black rocks.” 

“Do you, Scratchy?” Dot asked, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder. “Do you want a kingdom of black rocks?” 

“Will you settle down?” 

Dot considered, glanced at Wakko for his opinion, and then said, “No.” 

Scratchansniff once again sighed. “Will you at least listen?” 

“Maybe.” 

He rolled out an ancient scroll, with incredibly obvious aging; it was barely staying together, with holes and rips every few inches; the parchment had faded to a dark brown, and the nigh-unreadable text faded every few letters, and from the little Dot could see from her perch on the table, it seemed to use a lot of weird spellings at points, and a whole different alphabet at others. 

“We had to translate this, which is what took so long-” 

“Just ask Yakko to read it.” Wakko said, now standing on his head as he scratched his leg. “He’s got magical translating powers now.” 

“Well, to be fair, we haven’t tested it.” Yakko said. “It seems like I can only translate a certain dead language, though we should probably pick up some foreign language books to truly see-” 

“Why  _ didn’t  _ you have Yakko try to translate?” Dot interrupted. 

“We considered that,” Scratchansniff said, glancing up, “But we don’t exactly trust Yakko with things this ancient.” 

“Because of the ice?” Dot asked, upset. 

“No, because of… the everything about him.” 

“That’s fair.” Yakko nodded. 

“Moving on,” said Scratchansniff, gesturing to the paper, “It’s a list of trading deals as far back as we could find. We compared it to more recent files to check and see if there was a notable difference in allegiances between then and now. And… well, aside from the sea-based kingdoms, we have had roughly the same levels of cooperation with the lands we could reach. And we, um… we  _ did _ have a main partner- moreso in the olden times, but it remained as such until… recently.” 

“The hell does that mean?” Yakko asked, summoning a snowflake midair to see how big he could make it grow. 

Scratchansniff paused, before rolling up the scroll, putting it away again. “We also compared our legends to the legends of that kingdom, and we believe it may indeed have rumors of a moon-based-” 

“Which  _ kingdom,  _ Scratchy? We gotta head out eventually.” 

Another sigh, and then, “It’s the Elemental Forest, Yakko.” 

Yakko’s eyes widened, and the snowflake he was playing with instantly burst into little bits, disappearing into the air. 

“Oh.” was all he said. 

Dot blinked, glancing around at everyone else’s hesitant expressions. “What? What’s up with the elements’ forest?” 

“Dot, sweetie, did you pay attention at  _ all _ when you were taught recent history?” Yakko asked. 

“A little.” she shrugged. “Why?” 

“The Elemental Forest is where our grandparents died, Dot.” 

“Oh, okay.” she said, still not completely getting it. “People die everywhere.” 

“It’s a long story,” Yakko said, clapping his hands together, “But basically? Mom went there as a kid with a diplomatic party, and the people there either killed everyone or at least got them stuck there. She doesn’t even know how  _ she _ got out alive.” 

“And it’s magic.” Wakko said, now balancing on his ears. 

“Yeah, but magic nobody but the people inside know how to handle.” 

“So what?” Dot shrugged. “We got our own magic nobody can handle. Glowing hair whip, ice boy, cartoon logic… we can probably handle it.” 

_ “Dot, how do I emphasize that everyone died?”  _

“We still have to get there, Yakk.” Dot said. “Might as well look on the bright side.” 

“We don’t even know if we  _ can  _ get there.” Yakko shook his head. 

“Yakko does make an excellent point.” Brain said, before moving to the part of the map that showed the forest, just outside the kingdom. “After whatever incident occurred there, a mist descended over the wood that seems to repel anything or any _ one _ that tries to enter. Pinky and I once attempted it-” 

“And I went bounce!” Pinky said. 

“What he means is, he could barely so much as touch the edge of it without being thrown backward into a tree.” 

“It made me  _ real  _ dizzy.” 

“I guess that could be an issue.” Dot thought for a moment, and then shrugged again. “Ah, well. We’ll stomp that bridge when we come to it.” 

“Dot-” 

“Look, if the rocks could get out, then we can get in.” Dot said. “We’ll find a way! It’s probably magic-based, anyway, and, again, we got two magic people right here.” 

“You really are an optimist, aren’t you?” Yakko said. 

“That, and I also  _ really  _ wanna road trip.” 

“It won’t be that long of a trip-” 

“Maybe to  _ get  _ there, no, but who knows what’s inside? It’ll be  _ super _ fun to go see.” 

“Also dangerous.” 

“That makes it more fun!” 

“You know we all almost died, like, a week ago.” 

“But we  _ didn’t!”  _

“That  _ is  _ true, nobody died!” Pinky said. 

“I think I died for a bit.” Wakko pointed out. 

“So did we,” Brain shrugged, “It’s apparently a recurring theme in this family.” 

“That’s not comforting.” Yakko said. 

“It’s like you said, though, Yakko.” Dot pointed out. “This is our best bet, it’s this or let the rocks follow me all the way here.” 

Yakko sighed, putting his hands to his face. Then, slowly, he looked over at Dot and said, “Are you sure?” 

“We knew this would be dangerous. At least now we have an idea as to  _ what _ we’re facing.” 

“That’s true. But  _ promise _ me you’ll be careful.” 

“As careful as I can be.” 

_ “Dot.”  _

“That’s the best you’re gonna get out of her.” Rita said, licking a paw. 

“Ugh, fine.” Yakko said, standing up. “But if we can’t get in-” 

“I think our first attempt at breaking the fog should be throwing Wakko at it.” Dot said quickly. 

“Second!” Wakko said, flipping onto his feet. 

Scratchansniff watched them with concern. “Now, are you sure you don’t want a bit more… supervision?”

“We have Pinky and the Brain.” Yakko said. 

Scratchansniff gave him a look, and then repeated, “Are you sure you don’t want a bit more supervision?” 

“We have Buttons!” Dot said. 

“Buttons will probably be busy watching Mindy.” he paused, then. “You  _ did _ ask her mother if she could come along, correct?” 

“As far as you’re aware.” Dot said. 

“What does  _ that  _ mean?” 

“Don’t worry about it!” Yakko said. 

_ “Yakko!”  _

“But in all seriousness, Scratchy,” Yakko shrugged, “We don’t wanna drag someone into this mess who won’t know what they’re getting into. We’ve all been through this magic crap before, we know how to deal with it- except Mindy, she’s coming because we’re not leaving her alone without Buttons- and we’re all decently equipped to handle it. But we need the council here to, like, make sure the kingdom doesn’t burn down without us.” 

“Gonna be real, Yakk,” Dot said, sliding off the table, “It’s more likely to burn down while we’re here.” 

“Good point!” 

“Still-” 

“Don’t worry about us, Scratchy.” Wakko said, walking over to the councilman and hugging his legs. “We’ll be just fine!” 

Scratchansniff sighed one more time, and then ruffled Wakko’s hat. “Are you sure?” 

He smiled. “We have each other, don’t we?” 

Yakko climbed into the caravan, inspecting the interior. “Nice, nice. Hammocks, like that. Could use a bit… more, though.” 

“More what?” Dot asked, climbing in and leaning against the wall. 

Yakko beamed, bouncing a little with excitement, and then waved his hand, creating a long chain of snowflakes, bound together and each rotating under the light. He floated it up against the wall, hanging it high up, above the window shutters. 

Dot giggled and ran beside him, getting on her tiptoes and staring up at the flickering snow. “You’re right! It’s  _ gorgeous!”  _

“Thank you very much!” He clapped his hands together. “Now! You got your spare beads?” 

“Check!” 

“The Kingdom map?” 

“Check!” 

“What else?” 

“My journal!” Dot proudly held up the journal he’d gifted her. “So I can write down everything! And I gotta finish the found family portrait in the back.” 

Yakko grinned, giving her a side-hug. “I’m sure it’ll be perfect, sunshine! Now-” 

_ “Yakko!”  _ Wakko opened the caravan door, racing in, though he had difficulty balancing at first. He stumbled over to his siblings, bouncing on his paws. 

“What’s up, my sib sibling?” 

“You forgot this!” Wakko reached behind him, and then held out a green scarf. Yakko fell quiet, staring at it. “It might get cold out there, and I know you’re a bit stressed right now, and Daddoo’s scarf always makes you feel better! You wore it for the lantern-lighting, so why not…?” 

Yakko bit his lip. “Um. I don’t really…  _ get  _ cold? Side effect of the whole…” he summoned some frost with his hand. “Y’know?” 

Wakko’s ears drooped. “Oh. So… you don’t need it?” 

He paused, glancing at Dot, who was hugging her journal to her chest. Then, slowly, Yakko smiled at his brother and took the scarf. 

“Naw, we’re definitely bringing this along. It’s a calm-down-scarf. Good thinking.” 

Wakko cheered slightly. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah. Here.” Yakko moved to one of the hammocks, sitting in the middle and waiting until his siblings moved on either side of him. He then unfurled the scarf, wrapping it around their shoulders. Dot giggled, and Yakko pulled his siblings closer. “Come on.  _ Where the north wind meets the sea…”  _

_ “There’s a journey for our family!”  _ Wakko joined in. 

_ “Go, my siblings, onward bound…”  _ Dot sung. 

_ “When all is lost, then all is found.”  _


	3. On the Trail

**CHAPTER THREE - ON THE TRAIL**

Dot stared out the window, watching the world go by outside her. “Wow! Wow!  _ Wow!”  _

“Dot,” Brain said, from his perch on a table, “You know we love you and understand your excitement, but if you do not stop repeating that every time you see a new item, we’re going to tape you to the roof.” 

“Ooh! Brain!” Pinky cheered. “Can I be taped to the roof? Can I? Can I?” 

“I’m sure that’ll happen.” 

“Yeah, Dot!” Wakko jumped up on the seat beside Dot, pushing her aside. “It’s our turn at the window!” With that, he and Runt stuck their heads out, letting their tongues loll. 

Dot huffed at them, and then scrambled to the front of the caravan, where Yakko was sitting with a book and a map. “Hey, brother! How much longer we got?” 

Yakko glanced over to the horse pulling them along, and said, “Well, our horse is slow as molasses, so I’ll give it another couple hours.” 

“Yay!” Dot cheered, before backing into the wagon and racing to the table, jumping to sit beside her mouse dads. “Guess what everyone, we got a few more hours to enjoy the trip!” 

“Oh, joy.” Brain groaned. 

By the window, Runt barked happily, and Buttons shushed him, gesturing to the sleeping Mindy. Rita, meanwhile, who was curled on a hammock, groaned and opened an eye. 

“Dot, Imma be real with you.” she said. “This caravan is tiny, and if we had to be in here for half a season instead of just a couple hours, I think I would snap and strangle somebody.” 

“You all just have no spirit of adventure.” Dot said. 

“I thought the spirit of adventure was some kind of hot air balloon.” Pinky said. 

“Pinky, your  _ head _ is a hot air balloon.” Brain sighed. 

“Zort!” 

Runt eventually pulled away from the window, running and leaping into the hammock Rita was sleeping in. Rita let out a yowl as the hammock began to precariously spin, and Dot slid from the table and moved beside Wakko, staring out the window. 

“The forest is so  _ pretty.”  _ she sighed. “Think in a few minutes we can stop and play in the leaves?” 

“We’re gonna need to stop to pee at some point.” 

“Ew, gross!” She elbowed her brother, and he elbowed her back, and they continued their play-fight for about a minute before bursting into giggles and sliding back onto the seat. Dot flopped her head onto Wakko’s shoulder, her tail thumping against the seat, and he cuddled against her as she started to purr. 

“You like traveling, huh?” 

“It’s so…  _ different,  _ right?” 

Wakko nodded. “You don’t see things pass like this from a castle window.” 

“And I love how bumpy it is! It’s like the wagon is massaging us.” 

“Yeah!” Wakko leaned against her, his voice lowering. “It feels so  _ nice.”  _

Dot recognized the way he relaxed his shoulders, and the way his voice went a bit deeper, more relaxed. “You’re tired?” 

“No…” 

“Go ahead and sleep, I’ll wake you up when we stop the caravan.” 

“Nuh-uh! I wanna see everything…” Wakko yawned. 

“Buddy, you know how you’ve been-” 

“I’m  _ fine. _ Stop bugging me about it.” Wakko pulled away from her, his smile fading, and he turned, poking his head out the window again. 

Dot hesitated, wondering if she should say something. Instead, she just peered out the window with him, and said, “The trees look really cool here.” 

“Yeah.” 

A pause. “Wanna just watch the road go on forever?” 

“Yeah.” 

Dot and Wakko did end up cuddling close, with Wakko falling into a light slumber and Dot resting her eyes, pinching her legs to keep herself awake. This lasted until the wagon came to a sudden stop. Dot opened her eyes blearily, stretching and accidentally slapping her brother in the face, which caused him to fall to the floor and yelp. Dot bent over to help him up, and once they were standing, Yakko had opened the caravan door, looking quite a bit concerned. 

“Uh, Dot? Heads up, we reached your rocks.” 

“What?” Dot stumbled over the floor, stepping carefully over the mice, heading as fast as she could to the door. She slid out, skidding over the steps, and Yakko made a dramatic arm gesture to the sides of the road. 

The black rocks, indeed, poked out of the ground, growing in number the farther Dot looked, stretching off into the woods. Each one was sharp, jutting out of the dirt and pointing at the sky, fierce as unsheathed claws. 

“Oh.” Dot said. 

She began to step to the rocks, and Yakko immediately grabbed her ponytail and yanked her back. “No, no, do  _ not  _ touch them again!” 

“It’ll probably be fine.” 

_ “Probabl- Dot, no!”  _

“I don’t think they want to hurt me.” 

“Doesn’t mean they won’t!” 

Dot flinched as the door swung open, and Buttons crept out, running to the rocks and sniffing them in an attempt to get a feel for them. Runt jumped down, wagging his tail, with Rita perched on his back. Pinky and the Brain climbed down the steps as well, before scampering over to the rocks. 

“Whoa, whoa,  _ what  _ are you doing?” Yakko asked. 

“Inspecting the rocks.” Brain said simply. “We’re scientists, Yakko.” 

_ “We don’t know what’ll happen if anyone else touches it!”  _

“I touched em before Dot did.” Wakko said from the doorway, peeking out. “And nothing happened to me.” 

_ “That you’re aware of!”  _

“Fascinating.” Brain said, touching the cold stone. “These rocks are unbreakable, correct? What kind of material must they be made of?” 

“Ooh! Taffy!” 

“Pinky. Did you seriously just suggest the unbreakable rocks are made of  _ taffy?”  _

“Have you ever been able to break taffy?” 

“I’m going to choose not to answer that.” Brain attempted to climb the rock, only to slide back to the ground. “We’ll need a sample to experiment with.” 

“That’s gonna be difficult, bud,” Yakko raised a brow, “Considering we just established we can’t break em.” 

Buttons returned to Yakko, barking out some kind of assessment. Yakko listened, and then said, “Yeah, they don’t seem dangerous  _ now, _ but when they were busting out of the ground to try and kill us? Not great.” 

“We don’t necessarily  _ know _ they were trying to kill us.” Dot interrupted. 

Yakko ignored her. “I suggest we get back in the caravan. We should reach the sundrop memorial soon, which’ll lead us to the edge of the mist. We’ll just have to be careful not running into these things.” 

“They don’t seem to be moving right now,” Brain observed. “So that shouldn’t be difficult.” 

“Yeah!” Yakko nodded. “Other than that? I think we should have some pretty smooth sailing!” 

Wakko blinked. “Oh, wait… I just remembered something.” 

“What?” 

“Um, it’s about… the bridge?” 

“I can’t believe you  _ actually  _ destroyed the bridge.” 

The party stood outside of the wagon, staring down at the bridge that was their only way to the hills they’d have to pass in order to reach the misty forest. And, indeed, it had all but completely collapsed into the cavern below. 

“To be completely fair…” Dot paused, struggled to think of something to say, and then announced, “I honestly forgot we did that.” 

“You brought it up last chapter.” Wakko said. 

“Go jump in the lake.” 

“Hey, hey!” Yakko pushed them apart slightly, and then said, “Alright. We can fix this. Now…” he pulled out his map, unrolling it and inspecting. “If we head south, and then east, we should reach a dip in the cavern in about two days. I think we have enough food for that-” 

“Or, you freaking idiot,” Dot said, giving him an angry gesture, “You could build us a bridge out of ice.” 

Yakko  _ oh _ ed. “Yeah, that would work.” 

“Moron.” 

“Alright, stand back.” Yakko said, stretching his hands and straightening up, bouncing a little. He waited until they all, indeed, retreated a few steps, and then he held out his hands, wiggling his fingers a little for effect as his magic flowed out, streaming towards the wide cavern ahead of them. Wakko excitedly cheered as the rush of light flowed over the cliffside, and began to form a bridge of ice, thick and sparkling poles poking out from the sides, weaving together to form a railing. He bridge slid across the air, reaching for the far side and stretching above the deep pit below. 

It finally capped off, ending at the edge of the cliffside. And just beyond it… more pointed, fierce rocks, stretching towards them. 

“Still gonna have to avoid those.” Yakko muttered. “But I think we can make our way over the hill. Though…” 

He hesitated, before turning to his siblings. “What?” Dot asked. 

“Do we… wanna visit the… memorial?” 

Wakko bit his lip, glancing down at the rest of the group- Runt was rolling in the grass, Buttons was dragging Mindy away from the cliff by her overalls, and Rita and the mice were already inspecting the edge of the bridge of ice. He turned over to Dot, hoping to meet her gaze, but she was already speaking. 

“We’ll stop on the way back, maybe.” she said, shrugging. “Don’t wanna set off the rocks again.” 

“Okay, yeah.” Yakko nodded, playing a bit with his hands. “Let’s get into the caravan and get across.” 

Brain turned, hand on the icy railing. “Are you sure this will hold the caravan’s weight?” 

“I made a castle without thinking and it only got busted by black rocks showing up and trying to kill us,  _ yes _ I think this bridge will hold our weight.” 

“What happens,” Pinky asked, already slipping on the ice, “If those moon rocks decide to chase us again and we’re halfway across the bridge, and they end up breaking it?” 

Yakko clapped his hands together, and said, “Then we’ll improvise! We’re  _ great  _ at that! Back to the cart.” 

“Can we add seatbelts to the caravan?” Rita requested, lifting Pinky by the scruff to carry him back to solid ground. 

“Maybe later. We should at least get to the fog.” 

Dot nodded and ran back to the caravan, holding the door open for everyone else. Rita climbed in first, carrying the mice, and then Runt and Buttons headed in. Wakko followed at Buttons’s heels, looking a bit quiet. 

“Wakko, you okay?” 

Wakko thought for a second, then shrugged and said, “Uh, yeah. Just wondering, if… nevermind, just… why’d we bring Mindy again?” 

“Do  _ you _ wanna leave her alone in Warnerstock without supervision?” 

“Fair.” he climbed up the steps, before going to curl up on a hammock, letting his tail swing free. As Dot shut the door, waiting for Yakko to climb to the front of the caravan, Mindy toddled over, giggling, to Wakko’s hammock. She sat on the ground, playfully batting at his tail. Wakko smiled a little, and began to swing his tail a bit faster, so Mindy fixed her concentration there. She focused, moving her tiny hands back and forth to try and hit the tail. Her small stature meant that her hits didn’t hurt, instead just gently pushing her target in different directions. Dot smiled at this sight, and then turned to the windowseat again. 

She watched as the caravan began to move again. The trees past, the wind blowing through the soft, damp grass. Dot poked her head out, letting the wind hit her fur, smiling at the lifting feeling it brought to her. She felt a bit of a bump in the carriage as the wheels transitioned from land to bridge, now pushing forward on the much smoother ice. Every now and again, they drifted to the left or right, as if they’d slip, but either their horse would pull them back on course, or the railing would gently block them from the abyss below. The young princess leaned out, looking over the far drop. She could see some pointed rocks down there, but also a river, winding through the ground in little zig-zags, occasionally glimmering under the setting sun. The bridge shone, too, little sparkles swirling across the twisting poles. Dot slowly put her arms on the windowsill and leaned her head down, resting on her arms and staring out in wonder at the world. 

Though, when they passed the bridge, she started to get more uncomfortable, mainly because the rocks started popping up more and more often. As they continued on, slowing down as they began to ascend up the hill, Dot leaned out again, tracing the path of the rocks with her eyes. They were going to their left, marking the math she and Wakko had run… wow, was it really just a few weeks ago? It felt like an eternity. She ran a hand over her ponytail, sliding back into the caravan and sinking onto the seat. The long fur was nice for climbing things, and swinging around the castle, but it had a weight to it in more ways than one, and she was really missing the pixie cut. 

There was a slight  _ pitter-patter,  _ and Dot glanced down as Pinky and the Brain climbed up the edge of the windowseat, pulling themselves up beside her. She smiled, hugging her knees. 

“You alright, Dot?” Pinky asked, cocking his head to the side as he looked up at her. 

“Sure.” 

“That’s not a  _ yes.”  _

She sighed. “Just a bit weird to be back here. With the rocks, and the sundrop thing, and the… just all of it. And the fact we have to go find the moonstone- Demanitus said it wanted to  _ join _ with the sundrop, what does that even  _ mean?  _ Am I gonna get moon powers? Is my fur gonna finally go away? Am I gonna  _ explode?  _ I don’t even… and the fact we’re about to get there, it just feels real now.” 

The mice shared a look, and then Pinky moved over, hugging her arm. “Well! Whatever happens, we’ll be right here for you!  _ Narf!”  _

“Narf!” Dot repeated. 

“Good Lord.” Brain muttered, but he did move beside Pinky and pat Dot on the leg. 

They fell into an uneasy silence, turning to watch Mindy bounce around and bat at Wakko’s tail, until the caravan came to a stop.


	4. Into the Unknown

**CHAPTER FOUR - INTO THE UNKNOWN**

Once again, the crew piled out of the wagon, standing in a huddle and staring ahead of them. Up in front of the caravan- whose horse didn’t seem to notice the eerieness of the atmosphere and was instead bending down to eat the dry grass- was the fog. 

Dot had never seen it up close, and it was very, very spooky. The fog started filtering up from the grass, but within only a few feet, it rocketed up to the sky, its end nowhere in sight. It was a glittering, thick wall of grays, but unlike the ice behind them, it didn’t reflect the sunset; instead, it blocked it out, making it seem like the sunlight ended at that block of air. It slowly, slowly swirled around itself, like a steady stream of muddy water. There was some kind of coldness emanating from it, but more of an abstract cold, not the wintery one Yakko had brought on them before. Even when they were standing at a distance, they could feel shivers down their spines as if they were standing in its midst.

“That looks way less freaky from the mountains.” Wakko said, as he picked up Mindy, holding her at his side. She waved at the wall, mumbling something about  _ “cloudy!”  _ Buttons sniffed the air, and then recoiled, growling. Dot slowly patted the mice on her shoulders, and Rita leaned against Runt, trying to calm him down. 

“Yeah, we just gotta figure out how to get past that.” Dot muttered. “Maybe I could try to glow, I think my light might- Yakko? Are you okay?” 

Yakko, beside her, was staring at the fog, completely transfixed. His ears perked up, his fur stood on end, and he let out a shaky, amazed breath. 

Then he took off running for the mist. 

_ “Yakko!”  _

Wakko and Dot wasted no time in rushing after him, the rest of the group following close behind. But Yakko was fast, and he made it to the wall incredibly quickly, standing at the edge and looking ahead, his eyes scanning through the glimmers. 

Dot reached him first, and Pinky slid down her arm and down to the ground, saying, “Ooh, let’s see if it still bounces!” 

“Pinky, I swear to Spielberg-” Brain said. 

Pinky ran to the fog, but as soon as he hit the wall, he was tossed back, and thrown directly into Rita, knocking her from Runt’s back. Undeterred, Pinky laughed and got back up as Rita groaned, and he raced for the wall again. He was thrown back quite a few times, until Dot finally leaned down and picked him up again. 

Wakko glanced at Pinky, and then the wall of fog, and then Yakko. “What are you doing, Yakko? Don’t run off like that! You could-” 

“I heard him again.” Yakko said, his tail beginning to wag. 

“Him?” Dot blinked. 

“The voice. The  _ call. _ I think it’s clearer over here.” Yakko said, sounding fascinated. “It sounds like he’s beyond the fog.” 

“Okay, okay, let’s back up.” Brain said, holding up his hands. “You know we’re still a bit concerned about the ‘hearing voices’ thing-” 

“With good reason, yeah.” Yakko nodded. “But I promise… I think he wants to help. I think he’s something good.” 

“Yakko, that’s  _ still worrying.”  _

“I just…” 

Yakko reached out for the wall, letting the edges trail over his fingers. He shivered, and then thrust his hand into the fog. 

Instead of throwing him back, the mist immediately, and quickly, rushed aside, parting in both directions, shoving itself away in order to make an escape. Yakko jumped back, looking up as the mist peaked in a triangular shape, making a pathway, shimmering in light purples and blues. As it parted, it revealed, just beyond its initial opening, several towering rocks, marked with symbols and shining as if new. 

“What the…?” Dot muttered. 

Wakko shivered, grabbing onto Yakko’s arm. Buttons, meanwhile, moved over to the rocks, sniffing up them. He barked back his findings- they smelled ancient, but alone, and nothing had touched them in years. 

“Well, that’s comforting.” Wakko muttered, holding Mindy a bit tighter as she tried to get down and reach for the clouds. 

“It’s beautiful.” Yakko said, awestruck. 

Dot gave him a curious glance, and then said, “Well, let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. No offense to our actual horse- Phar Fignewton, right? Okay, let’s get back to the caravan, the pathway seems big enough for us to get through.” 

“Are we… actually going into that?” Rita asked hesitantly. 

“It’s what we came here to do.” Dot said. “Though, Imma be honest, I didn’t expect it to be this easy… maybe it’s a trap.” 

“It’s not.” said Yakko, his mind still elsewhere. 

Dot glanced to him, and then to Wakko, who hesitated before grabbing their older brother’s hand. “We’re going in together, right?” he said quietly. 

“Right!” Yakko nodded, before turning back to the caravan. “Come sit up front with me, it’ll be fun!” 

He ran back to the wagon, scurrying up to the front seat. The rest of them crowded up beside him- it got a bit squished, so Rita and the mice scurried atop the horse, as Yakko directed her to go forwards. 

Phar Fignewton trotted towards the fog, still not noticing its odd atmosphere, walking through the path and looking ahead at the brightness. They passed through the beginnings of the fog, and passed the rocks; as soon as they did, they jumped and turned as they saw the mist close in behind them. 

“Oh, that’s not great.” Dot muttered. “If we get stuck in the middle of this, I’m gonna kill you, Yakko.” 

“I don’t think it will close on us.” Yakko said, but his voice quivered. 

Dot shivered, hugging herself as the path continued to close behind them, and they seemed coated in the purple mist. She huddled close to Yakko, leaning against his arm, shutting her eyes so she didn’t have to see how small a space they seemed to be in. Wakko hugged Mindy on his lap and reached out an arm to pull Buttons closer. Runt, almost as oblivious to the fog’s influence as Phar Fignewton, simply sniffed at the mist and tried to lick it. Rita glanced back hesitantly, as Pinky spoke up. 

“You know,” the mouse said, “Lots and lots of fairytales like to use enchanted forests as a setting for transformation. I have no idea what that means, but I bet it’ll do something really funny to each of us!” 

“Comforting.” Brain rolled his eyes. 

The path continued for quite some time, until they finally saw a speckle of light in the distance. Yakko pressed the horse to go faster, and soon they were pulled out into a thick, beautiful wood. 

“Whoa.” Dot said. 

Above them were falling, orange leaves, spreading across a sea of warm trees and towering branches. The mist above blocked the sky, but the light shining from it still illuminated each plant, giving the reds and yellows some kind of glow. Crimson plants decorated the ground, with bushes sprinkled with berries pushed against the tree bark and making a winding forest path. Rocks reached up and scattered themselves amongst the ground, covered in thick, warm-colored moss. Grass poked out from beneath already fallen leaves, and they could see a distant stream, weaving in and out of view, and shimmering in a rich blue. 

They climbed back down, and then Pinky turned and said, “Oh! The mist is back!” 

He raced to the wall of fog, that had indeed completely closed behind them, and when he reached it, he was once again thrown into the air. Yakko turned, moving towards the wall and reaching out his hand, only for it to be yanked back as well. 

“Oh, so we’re stuck here.” Dot muttered. “That’s peachy.” 

“Don’t be so negative.” Rita quipped. “At least we’re stuck in a place we don’t know anything about with no sun.” 

“Yeah! No sunburn!” Runt yipped. 

Wakko slowly put Mindy onto Buttons’s back. “Y-yeah. We gotta cheer up. I’m sure once we get the moonstone, everything’ll open up again.” 

Yakko ignored the conversation, instead going to the nearest plant- a burst of thick, red hyacinths. He reached down, letting the petals tickle his fingers, and he smiled and laughed. 

“Yakko? We should get going.” Dot pressed, gripping her ponytail in a bit of stress. 

“What? Oh- yeah! Yeah. Head back in the caravan- unless you want to sit up front with me. We should be looking at everything we can, I’ve never seen… it’s so  _ pretty.”  _

Dot sighed, letting herself smile a little, and she shook her paws between the leaves, letting them crunch under her. “It  _ is.”  _

“I can’t believe this has been beyond our kingdom the whole time.” Yakko whispered, before turning back to the caravan, stroking their horse, and then climbing up into his seat. 

They traveled for quite a while, but even the fog grew dark eventually, and Buttons suggested they find somewhere to camp for the night. Yakko found them a decently large clearing, and they made their camp in the center, pushing leaves aside to build a fire and spreading blankets across the ground. Dot made everyone s’mores, which unfortunately gave Mindy and Pinky sticky fingers for a while, and they chatted quietly about what their plan was- which, it turned out, was just “keep going until we reach something that looks like the moonstone, or we find those rocks.” There wasn’t really much else they could think up. 

Wakko fell asleep first, curled under his weighted blanket, and Buttons and Mindy ended up cuddling beside him. Dot wrapped herself up in her fur, with Rita and Runt beside her, and the mice volunteered to take first watch. Yakko eventually slid over beside Dot, leaning against her and putting a protective arm around her sleeping body, letting himself drift off. 

He was in a dreamless, peaceful sleep for a little bit, until… 

_ Ah-ah, ah-ah…  _

Yakko blinked his eyes open, and then sat up, flicking his ears slightly. He rubbed his face, carefully getting to his feet, listening to the wind. 

_ Ah-ah, ah-ah…  _

His tail began to wag again, and he smiled, stepping over his sleeping friends. He glanced towards their guards- Rita had been awoken to keep watch now, but Yakko figured he could be quiet enough to sneak out behind her. He crept over the grass, moving to the nearby trees, putting his hand against the bark and absorbing the rough feeling, letting its texture give him a rush of excitement. He didn’t know what it was about these trees that was making him so happy, but it was like walking into a new, exciting world. 

_ Ah-ah, ah-ah…  _

Yakko continued into the trees, following the distant call, not really thinking through anything he was doing, instead just letting his happiness move him along. The call was close, closer than he’d ever heard it, and it made him feel like  _ light. _

After a moment, he held up a hand and called back.  _ “Ah-ah, ah-ah!”  _

_ Ah-ah, ah-ah!  _

He pushed through a hanging branch, jumped over bushes and sprouting flowers, picking up speed as his excitement grew.  _ “Ah-ah, ah-ah!”  _

The voice called back, and he began to sing along. 

_ “Ah-ah, ah-ah! Ah-ah, ah-ah! Ah-ah, ah-ah! Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah!”  _

He slid to a stop in the center of another clearing, bouncing and spinning in a circle, looking up at the sky, as if the voice could somehow be above him. The wind picked up around him, and he felt the breeze flow through his fur, as if the call itself was lifting him up. 

Actually, he  _ did _ feel like he was lifting up… 

Yakko jumped and looked down, realizing that the blowing wind had pushed him off his feet. He leapt back, skidding onto the ground, as the leaves picked up, swirling around in a circle, like a small storm. 

“Oh no.” he said. 

The wind burst towards him, and he started to run. 

He was heading back the way he came, zig-zagging through the trees and trying to avoid the flaring leaves behind him. But this strange wind pushed on behind him- and when he turned back, he saw that not only had it picked up speed, he could see it now. It was swirling fast, picking up leaves and twigs as it burst along, trampling plants as it rushed after the fleeing prince. It was a dark gray, a mini tornado, and a strange noise emitted from it, some kind of roar. 

“Shoot, shoot, shoot…” Yakko muttered, pushing himself farther. 

_ “Yakko?”  _

_ “Shoot, shoot, shoot!”  _

Dot rushed out from the trees, the mice on her shoulders. She took one look at the wind and let out a swear, before reaching out to grab Yakko’s hand and drag him along behind her. The wind was close to them now, causing her fur to flare up in the wind, and Pinky and the Brain had to grip onto her shoulders to keep from being blown away. 

_ “What did you do?”  _ Dot asked. 

“I don’t think this was me!” 

She dragged him back towards the clearing, where the rest of the group were scattering the ashes of last night’s fire. Wakko glanced up, concerned. “What are you-” 

_ “Run, run, run!”  _ Dot called, but everyone picked up on the danger as soon as the tornado bust through the trees. Unfortunately, it had caught up with them, and suddenly they were all swept inside. 

Yakko grabbed tighter to Dot’s hand as their feet lifted from the ground and they began to spin through the air, but eventually he lost his grip, and she whirled off, desperately clinging to her beads to keep her hair from bursting out and getting caught in the clouds around them. Pinky and the Brain went flying, spiraling up and down at the mercy of this storm; Rita yowled, and Runt barked with excitement, apparently under the impression that this situation was “definitely, definitely cool.” Buttons pushed by Yakko, barking, and managed to get his way over to Mindy, who was laughing and pointing out leaves and branches. He had to duck beneath the caravan, upon which their horse was still attached, letting out panicked whinnies. It almost hit Rita and Runt, who barely managed to dodge. “Watch it!” Rita yelped, as if the horse knew what she was doing. 

Yakko turned wildly, trying to keep track of everyone, finally spotting Wakko a bit above him, shouting, “I think I’m gonna throw up!” 

“Do  _ not!”  _ Dot called, still holding her fur closer to her. “If you puke on us I’m gonna  _ kill you!”  _

“What the  _ hell _ is happening?” Rita yelped, narrowly avoiding a branch that went straight for her face. 

“I bet this is that wind spirit!” Pinky called, lifting Brain a bit higher to avoid a flying rock. 

“Well it seems a bit peeved off!” Rita yowled. 

_ “Really? We hadn’t noticed!”  _ Brain called back. 

Yakko noticed the caravan catapulting towards Wakko, and screamed, throwing out a hand. A blast of ice shot forth and knocked it away from his brother, but Yakko began to spin head-over-heels, and suddenly leaves began spiraling around his wrists. “Hey! _ Hey!”  _

The tornado then seemed to tighten, swirling around him. The rest of the crew were thrown forth, crashing to the ground- Dot managed to catch the mice before they landed, while Wakko landed on top of Buttons and Runt, Mindy landing on top of him and still cheering, saying  _ “Silly breezie!”  _ The caravan crashed, thankfully upright, and Phar Fignewton reared and let out panicked cries, trying to figure out if there was a direction she could safely flee. Rita fell into a pile of leaves, scattering them into the air, and Dot had to push them out of her eyes. 

_ “Yakko!”  _

The wind spirit had closed into a circle, hovering above them and still sending blasts of leaves and debris around them. They could barely look at it without the storm blasting into their eyes, but Wakko wasted no time, scrambling out from the pile and trying to make his way closer. 

_ “Yakko! Yakko!”  _

Inside the ball of wind, Yakko was still spinning, bouncing around like a living pinball, his fur flying up around him. His ears and tail strained against the insane push, threatening to snap, and he slowly managed to force his hands together, summoning ice between them. He could feel the aura of magic beneath his palms, and he shut his eyes, focusing, trying to block out the screaming he could hear from outside his horrible prison, calling for him, for the wind to let him go. He kept his mind on the power in his hands, and finally it burst forth, and Yakko dropped. 

The wind didn’t dissipate, but he managed to get his feet firmly on the ground while it still swirled around him. He threw out his hands to the sides, blue light bursting from each palm and holding the storm at bay. It spread in a dome, still surrounding him and picking up speed, fighting back, trying to crush him. His knees buckled, and he barely kept himself standing. 

_ “Ah-ah, ah-ah…”  _

Yakko jumped, startled, and thrust his hands out farther. He looked up into the spinning air, straining his eyes against the fierce weather, seeing shapes begin to form from the clouds of gray- the shape of a little girl, a young toon, running. Swords forming midair, echoes of cries pounding against his ears. An orb forming, flashing dangerously- no, not an orb, a  _ stone.  _ Sharp rocks bursting forth from the walls of wind, their peaks pointed directly for him. 

_ “Ah-ah, ah-ah-ah…”  _

Yakko shut his eyes and let out a shout, and some kind of beam burst from his hands, and suddenly the wind was thrust away. 

The mist burst through the clearing, forcing everyone back and crashing to the ground- everyone but Yakko, who remained standing right in the center, breathing deep and trying to regain his composure. The wind cleared, dissipating into the distance, and he struggled to breathe normally, to calm himself down. Slowly, he straightened up, and scanned the clearing. Everyone seemed fine, slowly getting to their feet- except Buttons, who’d been thrown into a tree and was now trying to scramble down. 

But what then immediately drew his attention were the sculptures of ice that had formed around him. Each was a different image, a magical glimmer flickering through them, and as he looked, Yakko immediately felt a calm wash over him. 

The breeze slowed, leaves spinning around the statues in a much slower, more controlled way, and even though they’d only just escaped, Yakko suddenly felt safer than he had in a long, long time. 

_ Ah-ah, ah-ah…  _


	5. The People of the Sun

**CHAPTER FIVE - THE PEOPLE OF THE SUN**

The sculptures were pushed back, pointed away from the center, as if Yakko had frozen them as they formed in the breeze- oh, God, he  _ might’ve.  _ He straightened up, spinning in a circle to look at the images. One looked like a rearing horse, taller than Phar Fignewton and with an imposing look reflecting in its eyes. Another, a toon with a raised sword. 

He tried to keep spinning, but Wakko raced up behind him, grabbing his shoulders. Dot ran up, too, shouting, “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” Yakko assured her, before pulling away and running to the next sculpture- it looked like the shadow spirits that had attacked them during his whiteout, hands outstretched. He moved to the next, some kind of rock pile that Mindy was attempting to climb. As Yakko squinted, he realized the rocks of ice were in the shape of some kind of creature, stepping forwards. He moved back to the horse, reaching out a hand to stroke its frozen leg. 

“What  _ is  _ this?” he heard Brain say, and he turned to see the mice around the frozen shape of a campfire. 

“Yeah, what happened?” Dot said. 

“They look like moments in time.” Yakko observed, moving onto the statue of some kind of woman, hands outstretched as he had just a few moments ago, blasting something from her palms. 

Dot blinked, and then said, “Pinky, didn’t you have a theory about this?” 

Pinky turned to her. “My theory about advancing technologies as both our savior and our doom? Poit!” 

“No.” 

“The thing about cottage cheese?” 

“No, no, the thing about water.” 

“Water has memories?” 

“Yeah!” 

“Pinky,” Brain sighed, “Inanimate objects don’t have a  _ memory recall.”  _

“Oh, but water does!” Pinky said, excited to infodump, and he scampered over to a puddle, gesturing at it while Phar Fignewton, having finally calmed a bit, leaned down to drink. “The water inside of us has passed through at least four humans, toons and/or animals before us. And it remembers everything!” 

“Ew.” Dot wrinkled her nose. 

A gust of leaves picked up around Pinky, swirling, and he giggled, lifting his arms. The leaves then spun, whirling around Rita, and then Runt, and then Buttons and Mindy. The toddler laughed, clapping her hands. “Windy! Silly windy!” 

Wakko tensed as it moved across him, and then spun around Yakko, eventually shortening and swirling around his hands. He laughed as the leaves tickled his fur, and the breeze gave him a cool, refreshing feeling. “Whoa.” he laughed. “You in a better mood now?” 

The wind let out some kind of noise- like a light laughter. It brushed over to Dot, swirling around her. She pressed her skirt down, saying, “Hey, careful!” The wind, in response, moved up behind her hair, pushing it up and knocking her off-balance. Dot stumbled, but cracked a smile once she realized that the breeze didn’t want to hurt her. “Aren’t you curious?” 

Yakko moved up beside his sister, and the breeze circled them, the leaves turning, as if it was a form cocking its head to the side in consideration. He laughed, putting an arm around his sister. “You’re the wind spirit, then. I can see why Mom said the people of the forest could tell when you were nearby- you’re hard to miss.” 

Wakko walked up beside them, sliding a hand into Yakko’s, and then he asked, “Do you have a name?” 

Another sound of laughter, and the wind swirled the three of them. 

“What about Gale?” Dot said, reaching out a hand to let the breeze encircle her wrist. “Puns are fun names.” 

The wind seemed to like that, as it swirled lightly around them again. Then it moved, and Yakko spun to follow its course, a smile flickering across his face. Then he froze, staring ahead, as the spirit then swirled around one of the sculptures, one that had evaded his notice until now. He let out a soft gasp, and then slowly crept forward. 

The ice had formed into the shape of two children, one lifting the other, their feet positioned in a run. It was hard to tell their shape, as some kind of cloak covered their face, but the second child, in his arms, was clear as day, though her eyes were closed and her head pressed against the chest of the one carrying her. She had her ears flopped over, but tied with a ribbon to keep them out of her eyes, and her face was narrow like Yakko’s, but her fluff was unmistakably the same as Wakko’s. 

“Mom.” tears sprang to Yakko’s eyes as he reached out, stroking the cold shape, as if he could reach out and touch his mother once again. 

“What?” Dot called, and she and Wakko raced over. Wakko slid to a stop just beside the statue, throwing his hands over his face and stepping back, emotion overwhelming him. Dot, meanwhile, slid beside Yakko, staring down at the image of her lost mother as a child. 

“She looks like us.” she said, awestruck. 

“This must be the one who saved her.” Yakko said, glancing up towards the other child, holding her. “But no other kids went in the traveling party with her-” 

“They must be one of the forest people.” Dot said, her eyes still fixed on their Mom’s shape. 

“But that would make them her enemy. Why would-” 

“Oh, what in the  _ hell!”  _

They all jumped at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, and turned, only to see a large group of people, mainly toons, dressed in warm colors and staring directly at them. Several held spears or shields, but the one in the front, a gray squirrel, was simply staring in absolute confusion. 

“How did  _ you  _ get here?” she asked, a bit of frustration creeping into her voice. 

Slowly, a smaller squirrel popped up behind her, and shouted, “Aunt Slappy! Look at her! The yellow girl-!” 

Instantly, the crew scrambled to their feet and leapt back to the siblings. Rita hissed, hackles raised in front of Dot’s feet, while Buttons barked and growled, pushing Mindy back towards Wakko, who ducked down and slowly picked her up, holding her back. Pinky and the Brain raced up atop of Runt’s head, where even he was growling, standing in front of Yakko in case these people decided to attack them. Phar Fignewton, meanwhile, still attached to the caravan, carefully backed into the trees, blinking towards this new group. Dot gave the caravan a quick glance, before shrinking back behind Yakko, who put a protective arm in front of her. 

At the sight of the group preparing to fight, the new people tensed as well, and the gray squirrel pushed the smaller boy behind her, reaching back. Someone handed her a sword, and she raised it higher. 

“Alright!” she said, her voice threatening. “Who the heck are you and how’d you even  _ get  _ here?” 

“Who the heck are  _ you?”  _ Yakko shot back, raising his brow. 

“Call your dumb dogs off and maybe we’ll tell you.” 

“Why don’t you lower your weapons first?” 

“Hold on, hold on.” Dot reached forward, trying to move Yakko’s arm aside and push past. “We don’t have to fight! Let’s just calm down and-” 

Buttons pushed her back farther, and the little squirrel shouted, “Aunt Slappy,  _ look,  _ she’s the color of the sundrop! The sundrop came-!” 

Yakko immediately shoved Dot to the far back of the group, before jumping to the front, hands out.  _ “How do you know about that?”  _

“What did she  _ do  _ to the sundrop?” said the older squirrel, aghast. 

“None of your  _ business,  _ get away from her right now!” 

“Don’t look at my nephew like that, I’ll knock your eye out!” 

“Don’t look at my little sister at  _ all _ or I’ll break your hands!” 

“Good  _ God,”  _ said a frustrated toon girl from behind the squirrels, suddenly raising her own sword and pointing it towards the group. “Listen, pals. We’re not afraid of you. We may not be fighters, but we know how to defend ourselves.” 

_ “Don’t tell them we’re not fighters, Minerva, they’re gonna think we can’t beat the crap out of them!”  _

“Everyone just calm down!” Dot said, still trying to push to the front of the group again. “We can figure this out-” 

As she stepped forward, the toon with the sword flinched, jumping and raising her weapon higher. Taking this as a threat, Yakko immediately rushed forwards and stomped onto the ground; ice immediately burst from beneath his paw, rushing across the clearing. It slid under the feet of the intruders, who immediately slipped and fell, knocking against trees or falling onto rocks. Yakko simply stood tall, straightening his shoulders and staring ahead. 

Dot finally pushed past Buttons, running to her eldest brother’s side and grabbing his arm. Wakko let out a cry and rushed to join them, and soon they all stood at the edge of the ice. 

The first of the people to get to their feet was the leader squirrel- Slappy, they thought. She reached out a hand, grabbing onto a tree to steady herself, and then turned her eyes on the albino prince. 

“Where did  _ you _ learn magic?” she said, shocked. 

_ “Learn?”  _ Yakko said, blinking in confusion. “You guys  _ learn  _ this stuff?” 

“What else can  _ you _ be doing?” 

“He’s just doing ice powers. Like I do glowing powers.” Dot said, frowning and cocking her head to the side, letting her ponytail swish. “What, like it’s hard?” 

“I  _ knew it!”  _ said the little brown squirrel, and before they knew it, he scrambled into the nearest tree, scuttled over a branch, and leapt, managing to fall just a few inches from the group. Once again, Yakko pushed Dot back, but the squirrel just happily got to his feet, bouncing on his tail. 

“Skippy, get back here!” 

“You’re like, the living sundrop! The sundrop’s a person now!” 

Everyone grouped around Dot, but she poked her head over Yakko’s shoulder, standing on her tip-toes. The kid looked about her age, maybe a bit younger; not dangerous at all. 

“What do you know about the sundrop?” she asked, trying to keep her voice level so he didn’t feel threatened- not exactly something she  _ needed  _ to do, since he didn’t seem affected by everyone’s hostility at all. 

“Uh,  _ everything,  _ duh. We know all about the sundrop and moonstone!” Skippy said. “And the spirits- we saw the wind spirit was messing around and heard screaming and assumed we should come over, but Imma be honest, we don’t know  _ anything  _ about ice magic! It’s  _ so _ cool, what do you draw your powers from?” 

Yakko shared a very confused look with Wakko, before saying, “I’m sorry, what?” 

“Well, the spirits draw their powers from nature, and the sundrop and moonstone from their respective astronomical objects. What’s ice from?” 

Wakko blinked. “Wha- how do you know it comes from somewhere? We don’t know anything about magic.” 

Skippy giggled. “Who told you  _ that?  _ We  _ live  _ here, we gotta know all this stuff.” 

Slowly, Yakko snapped his fingers, and the ice on the ground disappeared, fading into the air. As soon as he did, Slappy raced over to her nephew, standing behind him and putting a protective hand on his shoulder, glaring over at the intruders. The rest of the group slowly moved behind her, too, with the girl with the sword positioning herself at Slappy’s side. 

“You live here?” Yakko asked. “You’re… the forest people?” 

Rita paused, looked up at him, and said, “Who did you  _ think _ they were? People passing by? We’ve got a fog wall, kid!” 

“How  _ did _ you get past the barrier?” Slappy asked. 

“It parted for me.” Yakko said. “To let us in. But it won’t let us out until we find the moonstone.” 

Slappy stiffened, and the girl at her side took fighting position again. “Uh, I don’t think so, kid. We’ve been protecting the moonstone for centuries from blockheads like you.” 

“But  _ Aunt Slappy!”  _ Skippy said, pointing at Dot. “She’s the sundrop!” 

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t  _ like  _ that.” Slappy said, glaring up at the kids. “The sundrop is supposed to be a flower somewhere in the mountains. What’s it doing wandering around looking like-” 

“It’s a long story.” Dot said. 

“Ooh! Ooh! Can I tell it? Can I?” Pinky asked, raising his hand and bouncing up and down. 

“Oh no.” Brain said. “Do  _ not  _ let him-” 

“Go off.” Dot waved her hand. 

“Oh, Lord.” 

“Okay! So!” Pinky moved forward, and began dramatically gesturing. “It began  _ long ago-”  _

“Not really.” Yakko shrugged. “I mean if you’re starting with my birth, I’m only fifteen, and Dot’s ten-” 

“And a half!” 

“We have three royal siblings!” Pinky continued, gesturing behind him. “The oldest, born with winter magic! There was an accident, and before the youngest could be born, her mother needed healed! So their dad sent his guards to find the sundrop to fix her! But none of them knew the incantation to make it work, so they just had the queen eat it.” 

“Technically,” Wakko said, “They put it in a bowl and had her drink it, but-” 

“And so the youngest is born with the power of the  _ sun!  _ But then this evil lady  _ kidnaps  _ her for her power! And everyone  _ freaks out!”  _ Pinky shook Brain’s shoulders for dramatic effect. 

“The princess is locked in a water tower! And her brothers are locked in the castle so nobody figures out Yakko can make ice with his emotions! The boys aren’t allowed outside, and Yakko’s always trying to control his magic, but at least they have their parents! 

“Their parents are  _ dead.  _

“It’s been ten years! Dot wants to leave the water tower, and her fake mum is like  _ ‘No, it’s too dangerous,’  _ but then Brain and I come in! We stole her crown and accidentally hid in her tower and she’s there with a cat! And she makes us take her to see the lanterns that Warnerstock sends out every year for her birthday! 

“And we have to deal with  _ ruffians  _ and  _ thugs  _ and we almost  _ drowned  _ and we got chased by a guard dog, but he’s our friend now so it’s okay- say hi, Buttons- and then we get to see the lanterns and it’s  _ beautiful!  _ And we’re gonna adopt Dot but  _ oh no!  _ We get  _ separated!  _ And now her fake mum has her again! We get  _ arrested  _ cause we’re kinda  _ criminals!  _ All hope is lost… 

“But then! The ruffians bust us out of jail! Brain and I go running off on Buttons to save Dot while Rita explains the entire thing to Wakko! Brain and I reached the tower but then we got  _ stabbed!  _ Dot was gonna use the sundrop magic to heal us but we wanted her fake mum to leave her alone so we chopped off her fur, and it turned black and lost its magic and the evil lady turned to dust! And Dot cried and had just enough magic left to save us! 

“And so she gets to go home! She’s reunited with her siblings!” Pinky hugged Brain to him to demonstrate, while Brain protested. “But uh-oh! Wakko and Dot are still feeling trapped, and Yakko hasn’t told them about the ice magic thing! They escape the castle, and Dot touches a black rock, and  _ whoosh!  _ Her fur is back, only this time it can’t heal. And then Yakko is coronated and it’s a  _ lovely  _ ceremony, really very nice, but then he gets mad and  _ whoosh!  _ Ice everywhere! He’s coated the kingdom! 

“He runs! And Wakko and Dot chase after him while the rest of us try to- we found some kind of machine thing?” 

Brain sighed. “The Demanitus Device?” 

“Right-o! And then the siblings  _ crash  _ into us! Yakko has  _ accidentally frozen Wakko’s heart!  _ So we gotta work fast! But then Dot sings a creepy song and gets  _ possessed  _ and suddenly there are shadow demons, everywhere!” 

“There were only two-” 

“And we  _ escaped!  _ But we got caught in a storm! Wakko gets rid of one of the shadows and then  _ freezes forever! _

“Then he unfreezes! 

“Oh, and then the ghost of Demanitus showed up and told us to go follow the black rocks to find the moonstone and join the sun and moon together so everything can finally stop being weird and we don’t have a clue what we’re doing except Yakko’s hearing voices so we’ve got that going for us. 

“Any questions?” 

The people of the forest stood completely still, blinking in confusion. Then, slowly, Slappy said, “Yeah, I have a lot of questions.” 

“Are you really from Warnerstock?” asked the girl with the sword, who slowly sheathed it again. 

“Uh, yeah?” Wakko said. 

She looked fascinated. “What- what’s it like?”

“Is it okay?” said another, older toon from the back of the group, a longing in her eyes. 

“Hey, everyone, focus!” Slappy said, clapping her hands to get the girl to straighten up. She then turned. “Look, that was a lot to process, and I’m sure it’ll take me a week to get through the first few sentences, but you can’t just waltz in here and demand the moonstone. That’s what your grandparents did and now we’re all stuck here!” 

“That’s what?” Yakko asked. 

“But Aunt Slappy!” Skippy said, pointing at Dot. “If she’s the sundrop, she can get the moonstone to stop trapping us here! We can see the sky!” 

“Look, kid, do you actually think-” 

“I can prove it, if you need!” Dot said. She stepped forward, and began to sing.  _ “Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine-”  _

Her fur began to light, but to their surprise, everyone started shouting and waving their arms to stop her. Slappy raced over and shook her, as if that could make her stop glowing. “Hey! Let go of her!” Yakko shouted, running over and pushing her off. 

“Did I do something bad?” Dot asked. 

“Don’t just light up like that, morons!” Slappy said. “The spirits could see you, and we haven’t gotten them to calm down in twenty-five years! Everything’s been trying to kill us, we can barely even start a campfire! And  _ you  _ don’t know how to deal with them like we do- do you wanna get killed? Cause if so, be my guest!” 

“Look, it’s fine.” Yakko said, rubbing his hands on Dot’s shoulders. “We just dealt with the wind spirit. What’s the worst that can happen?” 

At that, the tree behind him lit, suddenly covered in flickering, purple fire. 

_ “That’s what could happen, you idiot!”  _ Slappy shouted, and everyone began to run. 


	6. The Flame

**CHAPTER SIX - THE FLAME**

Yakko snapped to action. He pushed Dot towards Buttons, and called out to his team. “Rita, Runt, calm down Phar Fignewton so she doesn’t bolt- that caravan topples, we’re all in trouble! Brain, Pinky, Buttons, get my siblings outta here!” 

“Yakko, wait!” Dot called, but Yakko already took off towards the burning tree, throwing his hand out and shooting ice towards it, trying to douse the flame. But the fire burst from the tree’s branches, scampering down another birch, and then began to light the ground, creating a zig-zagging pathway of purple. 

The people of the forest began to scatter, and soon Dot was lost in the sea of people. Someone grabbed her arm and yanked for her to follow them, but when they were blocked off by a wall of fire, they lost their grip, and Dot ended up rushing out into the forest alone. She stumbled away from the spreading fire, stumbling and spinning, her ponytail bouncing against her. “Wakko! Yakko!” 

_ “Dot! Dot!”  _ Wakko called, also lost in the flame. He held tight to Mindy, who was completely unconcerned and pointing at the fire.  _ “Dot, Yakko! Where are you! Come back!”  _

He leapt back as the flame flew up the tree in front of him, before leaping off the branches again, bouncing from tree to tree and setting them all ablaze in purple explosions, light blues at their core. Wakko stepped back, holding Mindy closer to him. “Okay, stay calm.” 

“Firey!” 

“Yes, yes, fiery, fiery forest, fiery forest  _ bad,  _ let’s go-” 

He heard a rush behind him, some kind of sliding ice-  _ Yakko.  _ Wakko turned, seeing his brother rushing several trees behind, freezing the fire over and leaving only icicles in its wake. He didn’t seem to hear Wakko, and instead scanned the forest, finally laying eyes on the source of the fire. He took off running, still throwing out ice towards any flames he passed. 

_ “Yakko!”  _ Wakko shouted, racing after him. 

Dot, meanwhile, was still stumbling through the fire, trying her best not to panic. She stopped, looking up; thankfully, the magic fire didn’t seem to have any kind of smoke, so she wouldn’t have trouble breathing, so long as she stayed away from the actual wildfire itself. She leapt over a branch, shouting.  _ “Brain! Pinky! Where are you? Anyone?”  _

She heard a cry, from just a little bit away, but her sight of who was there was blocked by the fire. She glanced up, seeing an unlit tree within throwing distance, and immediately pulled out her beads, stuffing them into her skirt pocket and letting her hair fall free. It hadn’t broken when Wakko had tried to set it on fire that first day, so she could only hope magical fire wasn’t any different. Worst thing right now was that leaves were already getting in her hair, that’d be a pain to brush out. Still, she lassoed her fur, before tossing it directly at the branch. It caught, and she jumped and pulled, lifting her high enough into the air. She spotted a shape behind the fire and re-directed her swing that way, before dropping down to the ground; her hair, unfortunately, unhooked from the strained branch, falling all onto the ground- thankfully, yes, it didn’t burn. 

It was Skippy, the little squirrel, looking very lost. He blinked at her in amazement, and Dot yanked her hair, dragging it all back to her. She stomped out the fire that still burned on its edge, and then said, “Okay, kid, I have a plan, grab on.” She held out her arms, and Skippy quickly ran to her, embracing her tightly. Dot then said, “Alright, fur! Let’s do that shield thing again.” 

To her relief, she seemed to instinctively know what to do; she yanked her hair back, and suddenly it wrapped around them, spiraling and piling high until they couldn’t see the forest at all. Skippy shouted, concerned, and Dot said, “Don’t worry, I’ve done this before!” 

“How many times before?” 

“Once, and it was on accident, but I think we’ll be fine! Now, listen, think of this as a hamster ball, and start pushing us out of here.” 

“What?” 

“It’s my fur, I can’t really move it in this position, but I can certainly spin.” 

“Won’t that make you dizzy?” 

“We’re toons, we can handle a little ‘dizzy.’ Now get rolling til we stop hearing stuff burning.” 

Skippy nodded, and then started to push on the wall of hair. Indeed, they started to roll across the ground, and he began to lift his feet, running across the fur as they moved through, bouncing off of trees and trying to get over roots in their way. 

After a minute or so, Skippy asked, “Are you okay, Ms Sundrop?” 

“The name’s Dot!” Dot said, as she continued to spin in her own shield of hair. “And don’t ask me to talk, or I’ll throw up!” 

“Okay, Ms Dot!” 

Wakko continued to race after his brother, the white fur sticking out amongst the dark of the forest and the bright purple of the flame. He jumped over roots and branches, holding Mindy close and trying to call out and get Yakko’s attention, but Yakko seemed fixated on stopping the fire at its source. 

“Firey! Firey  _ pretty!”  _ Mindy called, pointing out the trail. 

“Yakko!  _ Yakko!”  _

Wakko stumbled, tripping over a root, and he rolled before hitting the ground, letting Mindy land on his stomach. He sat up, pulling her closer as a burning branch landed in front of them, the flames rising high. He flinched back at the heat, pulling the toddler back with him, and he stood, trying to move again. Suddenly, though, his legs felt like lead, and as he kept pushing himself forward, he found himself sinking lower and lower. 

_ No, no, not now, not  _ now… 

“Wakko?” Mindy asked, noticing how he was slowing. “Wakko okay?” 

“I’m  _ fine.”  _ he said, but he had to stop a moment, leaning against a tree. Then Mindy let out a cry, and Wakko looked up to realize that the tree they were against was beginning to burn, starting from the branches above them. He retreated, only to collapse on the ground, his legs giving way, still feeling too much weight and shaking uncontrollably. 

_ “No, no, no!”  _ He struggled, trying to force himself to his feet without putting Mindy down. “Get up!  _ Get up!”  _

“Wakko?” Mindy blinked. 

“It’s going to be okay!” he said quickly. “Get on my back, we’ll see if I can crawl-  _ augh!”  _ he dropped again, putting a hand over his heart, which was starting to ache.  _ Why did this have to happen now?  _ Why was he still feeling the effects of the unfrozen heart? He should be okay by now! He should be  _ fine,  _ and instead he was  _ stuck.  _

“Wakko! Mindy!” 

Wakko blinked up, hearing Brain’s voice, and pulled Mindy towards his chest. Suddenly, the fire around them vanished, frost swiftly covering the ground, shooting up the trees and sliding under his paws. He looked up to see Yakko, several feet away and directing his snow towards them. Mindy cheered, and Wakko turned to see that behind them, Buttons was running, Pinky and the Brain riding on his head. 

“Buttons, get them out of here!” Yakko called, before racing off after the flame again. 

“Yakko!  _ Yakko, no!”  _ Wakko called, but he felt Buttons lift him up by his sweater, and jumped. Mindy slid out of his arms, quickly climbing onto Buttons’s back and hugging his neck. Buttons then continued to carry Wakko, racing across the frozen ground. 

Yakko took off, keeping his eyes locked on the flame. He was catching up, thank God, able to douse the trail of fire beside him as he moved. But he looked ahead, seeing they were about to pass another clearing, inside of which were several tents- likely the camp of the forest people. He pushed himself farther, tossing out his hands, letting his clumps of icicles rise in front of each tent, winding back and forth and starting to make a pathway. Thankfully, the fire seemed unable to pass them, leaving the area unburnt, and giving Yakko a better idea on how to handle this fire. 

He raced past the tents, noticing the land start to descend, and he threw out his hands, letting the ice spread farther across the ground. He then clapped his hands together, watching as icicles rose from the ground, making the path narrower and narrower, giving the fire less room to escape. He saw a large rock pile at the edge of the clearing, and started aiming his path in that direction, drawing the fire into a smaller and smaller area, until finally it entered a crack between the rocks, and he could see the purple bouncing up and down, bouncing off the walls of the tiny cavern. He rushed to its edge, holding out his hands, prepared to freeze over the entrance. 

But then he stopped, cocking his head to the side, letting his ear flop into his face. The way the fire was moving, it didn’t seem angry- it seemed panicked. 

_ Don’t be stupid, fire doesn’t have feelings.  _

_ Well, neither does wind, but you saw Gale.  _

Yakko knelt down, keeping frost at the tips of his fingers just in case. But, yes, in the enclosed space, the fire didn’t seem as threatening- in fact, he could make out some kind of tiny form in the front, a teardrop shape. Likely its head? Yes, it was turning to face him now, and he thought he could see eyes, the same shape as the head. It let out a startled cry, which sounded like the rising of flames, and a tiny arm formed at its side, throwing out more fire. It missed him, catching onto a tree, and Yakko simply reached back, iced over the branches, and then gave the flame a glare. He crossed his arms, and said, “Now, that’s no way to act.” 

Slowly, the fire seemed to grow smaller, more confused. Wondering why Yakko wasn’t attacking. Yakko once again cocked his head to the side, following the way the fire was leaning, as it slowly emerged from the cavern. This time, though, there wasn’t a trail of purple flame behind it, and it was just a small, floating shape, dark spots for eyes. It crept a bit closer, every now and again ducking to the side in case it had to run, but Yakko stayed low, just watching, He held out a hand, smiling a little. “Yeah! Come here. It’s okay.” 

The flame did move to his hand, and when Yakko felt the intense heat, he remembered that, oh yes, while this thing was kinda cute, it was also living fire. He moved his hands together, frosting them over, and that seemed to excite the flame. It jumped up, some kind of smile appearing in its flickers, and it settled down, resting against his cold paws. It turned to a more blue shape, more controlled, its flames swirling less in the wind. 

As it did, the remainder of the wildfire died, disappearing into the air. Yakko looked back, smiling, before waving a hand and letting his icicles sink back to the ground. The flame watched that with interest, so when Yakko turned back, he waved his hand overhead, dropping tiny snowflakes above it. The flame seemed to like that, spinning in a little dance. 

“You know, you’re pretty cute when you’re not setting everything on fire.” Yakko said. “Just like Gale, huh? Oh, that’s what we called the wind spirit. And you’re the fire spirit, huh? Are you friends?” 

The flame seemed to nod. 

“We should give you a name. Have you got one?” 

It rocked back and forth. Shaking its head? 

“Hmm. Just Flame? Maybe Luke. Or Francis Scott Key.” He reached out a finger, petting the flame; now that it was calmed, it felt less like pure fire and more like a warm ribbon, tickling against him. “Or Bruni.” The flame looked up at that. “Oh? You like that? It means ‘shining.’” It nodded, doing another dance. “Okay! Bruni it is. You look sometimes like you’re trying to talk to me- I can’t hear you, sorry about that. But I can see you just fine! And it’s nice that you’ve calmed down. Try not to set everything on fire when you’re upset- it just causes problems for the rest of us. And we got enough crap to deal with, yeah?” 

Bruni nodded, and Yakko heard the rustling of leaves behind him. He stood, turning and looking over. The caravan slowly moved through the trees, Rita and Runt riding on the horse to direct her path. Rita relaxed upon seeing the King, and called back, “Alright, fire spirit’s chilled out!” 

From behind her, the forest people began to step out, back into their village, staring in confusion at the flame in Yakko’s hands. He looked down as it seemed to blush, leaning back and forming a leg to twiddle in embarrassment. “Hey, it’s okay, we’ll talk to them together, yeah?” 

He heard more rustling from the side, and turned, before sinking his shoulders in relief as he saw a bundle of fur burst forth, bouncing down a slope and into the clearing. Once it landed, the fur unraveled to reveal Dot and Skippy, with the former holding her head and letting her eyes spin around. 

“Skippy!” called Slappy, and Skippy raced over to his aunt, immediately holding up his arms so she could lift him up. 

Yakko gave Dot a glance-over, satisfied that, yes, she was alright, just a bit disoriented. He began to step forwards, before… 

_ Ah-ah, ah-ah…  _

Yakko turned, and to his surprise, so did the flame, scrambling up to his shoulder and pointing off to the distance. 

“You hear him, too?” Yakko asked, turning towards the direction of the sound. The flame moved back down to his hands, nodding. “Somebody’s calling us, aren’t they? What do we do?” 

Bruni gave him another flicker that seemed like a smile, and then it leapt down from his hands, scrambling across the leaves and up onto a rock, gesturing to the distance. 

“Keep going?” Yakko asked, and it nodded. “Okay! Onward it is.” 

The flame scampered off, and Yakko started to follow, before he felt someone leap onto him from behind. He jumped, surprised, and only settled when he heard Dot say, “Yakko! Oh my God, are you alright?” 

He waited until Dot let go of him, and then he turned, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I’m fine, I’m fine. How are you?” 

“I’m great! My hair’s a shield, in case you didn’t notice, and it doesn’t burn, so- oh, crud, we should get this in a ponytail again- the leaves are gonna be a killer.” 

“Ugh, yeah. Just shake like Runt in a storm? Maybe that’ll get some of them out.” 

Dot did so, sending several feet of fur flying into Yakko’s face. He laughed, pushing her back as she began to pull out her beads. 

_ “Yakko!’  _

He looked up, becoming even more relieved as he saw Wakko push past the crowd, Buttons at his heels, still carrying the mice and Mindy. Wakko stumbled as he ran, before rushing into Yakko’s arms, hugging him close. 

“You’re not dead!” 

“Neither are you, not that you were doing a lot to prevent that outcome.” Yakko said, as Wakko pulled away. He knelt down, looking him over. “You’re still tired, aren’t you? You can barely stand up.” 

“I’m  _ fine!”  _

“No, you’re not! What were you  _ thinking,  _ following me into fire?” 

Wakko blinked, and then tensed, his ears going back and his tail curling in anger. “You don’t want me to  _ follow you into fire?  _ Then don’t  _ run into fire!”  _

“Wakko!” 

“You could’ve been  _ killed!  _ You’re not being careful!” 

“Neither are  _ you!  _ Wakko, you carried  _ Mindy  _ in there with you! You put her in just as much danger as yourself!” 

Wakko flinched, suddenly realizing this, and then hissed, “I wouldn’t have had to run after you if you’d waited for us! Instead you went running off-” 

“I can make ice out of my hands, fire’s not gonna bother me! It’s  _ you  _ I’m worried about! I’m not going to let you  _ die  _ because of me again! Okay?” 

Wakko let out a huff. 

“Wakko. Me and Dot have magic that can protect us. You  _ don’t. _ You need to be more careful than us.” 

Wakko stared at the ground, and then sniffled, “I don’t want you to leave me.” 

“Hey, hey.” Yakko lowered himself, grabbing his brother’s arms. “I’m right here, yeah? No more shutting out- we agreed. Crossed our hearts and eye-needled or whatever. Now… are you okay? Tell me the truth, please?” 

Wakko considered his response for a while, before letting himself lean onto his brother. “I’ve been better…” 

“Could this help?” 

Yakko and Wakko turned, seeing that Dot had raced off to the caravan and returned during their argument. She looked concerned, her eyes flickering between them in fear they might start yelling again. When they didn’t, she smiled nervously and held out what was in her arms- Dad’s scarf. Yakko smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Good thinking, Dot. Come here, cuddle close.” 

Dot ran to join the hug, and Yakko took the scarf from her, wrapping it around their shoulders, pulling it tight. Wakko leaned farther onto him, and Yakko felt Rita climb over their legs, settling on Dot’s paws and purring comfortingly. 

Then… 

“Where did you get that?” 

Yakko looked up, surprised, to see that Slappy, still holding Skippy at her side, was much closer to them than he’d expected, just a few feet, beside Buttons, who was tensing and keeping a close eye on her. 

“What?” Yakko asked, confused. “Oh- I’m sorry, we’re still in your camp, we should…”

“That scarf. Where the  _ hell _ did you get that?” she sounded upset. 

“Aunt Slappy, be nice.” Skippy hissed. 

“This is our Dad’s scarf.” Dot said quietly. 

“No, it’s not.” Slappy shook her head. “That’s Willo’s scarf.” 

Yakko froze completely, while Wakko and Dot just looked confused. “No.” Wakko shook his head. “This was our Daddoo’s. He wore it for special occasions, and when he was sad- I saw it all the time.” 

“Our Mom used to call him Will-o.” Yakko muttered, before slowly pulling the scarf off of them, holding it tight against his chest. “When it was just us.” 

Slappy shook her head, confused. “What are you talking about?” 

“What are  _ you _ talking about- who’s your Willo?” 

“He was a kid, one of  _ our _ kids- he died when your people decided to try and kill us.” 

“He  _ died?”  _ Dot asked. 

“Well, they never found him, so they just kinda assumed-” Skippy began. 

Yakko’s eyes widened in realization, and he tied the scarf around his neck, before picking up Wakko. With that, he raced off, carrying his brother in his arms.  _ “Yakko!”  _ Dot called, before picking up Rita and rushing to follow. 

Yakko didn’t care how many people were trailing after him- which was a lot, since everyone was quite confused as to what was happening. Instead, he just held Wakko close and kept running through the woods, following his path of ice, letting it turn to sparkles as he passed. He kept going, pushing himself farther, until he reached the place they’d all started, the clearing filled with frozen statues. 

He ran right to the one in the far corner, the one of their mother, only a little kid, being saved. He dropped Wakko to the ground, and as soon as Dot raced up, breathing deep, he untied the scarf, holding it out beside her rescuer. 

“Look!” 

Dot stared. “That… that can’t be the same scarf.” 

The forest people began to filter in, staring, as Yakko nodded, a smile bursting across his face. “It is! It’s Dad’s scarf, which means…” 

He stepped back, before wrapping the scarf around himself again. He glanced back, and then slowly raised his hands, focusing intently on the statue. This was a moment in time, right? So he just had to move forward a few more moments. 

Indeed, the statue began to move as he held out his hands, the legs moving up and down, running through the woods. Yakko felt the wind tickle his legs, and he smiled as Gale picked up around the statue, swirling upwards towards the sky. And when her leaves passed by the face of the child carrying their mother, the cloak fell down, as he looked behind him, and then back to the girl in his arms. 

Yakko lowered his hands and returned to the statue, and then traced his father’s young face made of ice. 

“Dad.” his voice broke. 

Dot stared, and Wakko moved up beside Yakko, still completely shocked. “It’s… it’s Daddoo?” 

“He didn’t just  _ bring  _ her to the castle, Wakko.” Yakko said, blinking back tears. “He saved her  _ life.  _ He got her out of the fight, out of the forest-  _ Dad  _ saved Mom that day.” 

“But…” Wakko muttered, trying to find the words. He heard the footsteps of the people behind them, though, and simply turned, looking at them with a newfound fascination.

Yakko stepped in front of the statue, putting his hands on his siblings’ shoulders. Dot finally came to, looking away from their parents’ statue, and said, “Willo was our Dad. Our Dad was one of you.” 

Skippy looked excited, bouncing on his tail, but Slappy was more cautious. She looked over the children, at the statue, and then over to the kids themselves. Her eyes landed on Wakko mainly, with his dark fur and round face, and then she said, “Oh, God. I see him.” 

Wakko blushed, leaning against Yakko, and then Slappy glanced down, nodding at Skippy. He beamed and ran forwards, stopping just short of them. He then held out his hands, and began a song. 

Yakko gasped, staring down at him, recognizing the melody from one of his dad’s lullabies. And then Minerva moved behind Skippy, putting one hand on his shoulder, the other reaching behind her for another toon, and she continued the song. As the rest of the traveling party moved up behind the siblings, staring in awe, the people of the forest formed a sort-of circle, each holding each other in an unbroken chain, some of the elders holding up smaller children in order to touch the shoulders of those in front of them, even younger kids grabbing onto their parents’ hands and giggling. Yakko teared up, holding his siblings closer, and Dot began to cry too, smiling bright. Wakko stared dumbfounded, until Slappy moved to the front, taking one of Skippy’s hands in hers and holding out her other paw for them. It was then that Wakko began to cry, too, and he reached out his paw for hers, smiling at its warmth. 

When the song faded, Slappy said, “We’re the Northuldra, kids. Welcome to the family.” 


	7. The Forest Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is a bit late! also, heads up, gonna have to skip this friday again- important class again.

**CHAPTER SEVEN - THE FOREST NIGHT**

“The rock giants will be heading this way, and unfortunately, Skippy and I have made a habit of ticking them off.” Slappy explained, as Yakko loaded the last of their things into the caravan. “Wouldn’t be smart to travel for at least a day. Our camp’ll be the safest place- just don’t glow again, might attract their attention.” 

“I actually _do_ try to avoid glowing normally, so, sounds good.” Dot giggled. She was already learning a clapping game from Skippy, the two of them sitting beneath the statue of the frozen horse. 

“I thought it was pretty!” Skippy said. 

“Thank you!” 

“We should get going.” Yakko said, though he couldn’t keep a smile off his face. “Thank you so much, Ms Slappy-” 

“Call me a “Ms” again and I’ll knock ya into next Tuesday.” 

“Alright! Slappy- can you tell us about our Dad? When we get back to camp. We’ll tell you everything that happened after he left, but we- he never… we want to know everything.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Hurry it up, we haven’t got all night.” 

“Ooh, I’m gonna like you!” Yakko said. He waved his hand. “Wakko, come on, get in the caravan!” 

“In a minute!” Wakko called. He was still sitting beneath the statue of their parents, rubbing his legs in an exercise Nurse had taught him, to try and make them stop aching, wake up a bit more. He didn’t want to be so tired right now, he wanted to stay up with the rest of them and talk to these people. 

_Their_ people? 

Northuldra. They hadn’t heard the name before- they just knew the forest people kept a lot of things secret. But their Dad was one of them, and he never said anything. Yes, of course, everyone was mad at them for almost killing the entire royal family… though Slappy seemed to think Warnerstock started it. Did they? If they did, why wouldn’t Dad say anything? And why couldn’t Dad say anything to him and Yakko at _all?_

It was their family, too. They should’ve known. 

Wakko looked back up at the statue. His father looked much different as a child, but he had the same face shape, showing the same concerned expression he’d get. And there he was, holding Mom, saving her life. She had to have known- the way she’d call him _Willo_ when nobody was there but family, the way she’d hesitate when telling the forest story, when Wakko would ask, as he did every time she was able to sit by his bedside and tell it to him, who had saved her. The way she smiled, hugging herself, whenever Daddoo sung his favorite lullaby to them. 

They both knew, and neither of them thought to tell them. Just like they never told him about Yakko. 

Wakko reached out, putting a paw against the statue. He sighed, breathing out, and whispered, “Another secret, and another, and another…” He looked up, staring at their faces one last time before he’d get up to leave. 

“At least you were consistent.” 

“Alright, then, time to be an exposition machine.” Slappy said, sitting cross-legged by the fire. “What’re we going over first?” 

Yakko, Wakko and Dot, sitting together across from her, all raised their hands, _ooh_ ing and shouting, “Me! Me! Me first!” 

Slappy slowly turned to her right, where the mice were sitting atop of Runt. “Are they always like this?” 

“Usually, yes.” Brain said, before tapping on Runt’s leg. “And now they’re your problem, goodnight.” Runt stood, wagging his tail, and raced back to the caravan with the mice. 

“Great. Like I don’t deal with enough kids over here.” Slappy rolled her eyes. “Alright, uh, you, the glowing one.” 

Dot beamed, bouncing a bit, and said, “Okay! So! You all are like, protectors of the moonstone?” 

“Eh.” Slappy waved her hand noncommittally. “I mean- yeah, we’re in charge of that. We found where it was a couple centuries back but uh? It does nothing but destroy things and that’s not really something most people like. And anyone who grabs that has the power to destroy whatever they want and that’s kinda dangerous. I, personally, prefer exploding stuff we wanna get rid of to things just dusting fast or black rocks shooting out of the ground, but apparently some people think the moonstone is ‘easier’ or ‘more powerful.’ So, yeah, we make sure nobody takes it or finds where it is. But it’s not, like, the _only_ thing we do.” 

“What else _do_ you do?” Wakko asked, fascination flickering in his eyes. 

“We exist, kid, what do you think? We live here, we do our own thing. We avoid ticking off the spirits, move camps when the weather changes, and play pranks on each other.” 

“Aunt Slappy likes to annoy the neighbors.” Skippy nodded, rocking back-and-forth. “And then when bad things happen she gets to do the cool leader thing.” 

“Putting me in charge wasn’t _my_ idea, but apparently it’s immediately applied to the oldest one here. _Does_ mean I get to crush moon rocks with a sword, though, so that’s fun.” 

Wakko glanced up. “You can break those?” 

“Yeah.” 

“We’ve never been able to so much as dent them.” 

“Well, you’re unprepared for this type of crap.” Slappy said. She gestured behind her, to where Minerva was talking with several adults, and the toon quickly grabbed a sword and ran back, handing it to her. “You see this beauty? Tell them about it, Minerva.” 

“Oh, it’s generational.” Minerva said, sitting beside the squirrel and watching the sword reflect the firelight. “Made of a rare metal we can’t find anymore, mixed with carbon _freaking_ nanotubes- it’s the only thing that can break creations of the moonstone. And it’s _incredibly_ shiny, which I personally appreciate.” 

“Minerva likes pretty stuff.” Slappy sighed, passing the sword back. 

“That’s right!” Minerva turned to the children, and then said, “But you’re actually from Warnerstock? Like, the kingdom?” 

“Uh, yeah?” Yakko nodded. 

“Is it doing okay?” she asked. “I hope it is- or maybe I don’t, they did screw us all over- but also! It’s my past, too- how’s it going?” 

“Are you from Warnerstock?” Yakko asked. 

“Uh, my parents were- my mom was actually your mom’s guard! And my Dad was on the council. They got stuck here when the moonstone’s fog spread and, well, none of the Warnerstockians who survived the initial fight were prepared to live alone in the forest, so they just kinda… ended up joining up.” She shrugged. “They’re… not really around anymore? But we’ve got a couple still hanging around- some of the ones over there, hi!” 

She waved at some older adults, who were helping the children douse their own campfire. A few waved back, a few others just glanced cautiously at the traveling party. 

“But the rest of us? We’ve never been out of the woods.” she leaned forward, excitement flickering in her eyes. “And I… I wanna know what Warnerstock is like. It’s my family history, I guess.” 

“Oh my God, same.” Dot said, reaching out and squeezing Minerva’s hands. “We want to know _everything_ about the forest. Apparently this is where our Dad came from!” 

“And Daddoo never mentioned anything.” Wakko said quietly. 

Slappy glanced at them. “Did he really never mention us?” 

_“Uuuuuuuuuuuh…”_ Yakko muttered. “To be fair to him, it might not’ve been the best PR move if he had. We kinda… well, everyone’s still a bit pissed that you killed our last royal family.” 

“They had it comin.” Slappy said. 

Yakko blinked. “I’m _sorry?”_

“You should be. Look. Everyone _here_ knows what happened.” Slappy gestured around the camp. “Your grandparents took our leaders aside, pulled out swords, and said, ‘give us the moonstone or we start killing you all.’ And, uh, we don’t do that! So we fought back, and then the spirits got ticked and set off the moonstone. It unleashed this stupid fog, and now we can’t so much as see the stars.” 

“That can’t be right.” Yakko shook his head. “Mom said we were just here to discuss trading and stuff.” 

“Yeah, well, your Mom was a dumb kid.” Slappy shrugged. 

“Come on.” Yakko said. “Are you sure that’s what happened? I mean- why would they want the moonstone in the first place?” 

“Same reason _everyone_ wants it. It destroys stuff. Weapon of war.” 

Minerva flinched. “My parents were never sure about that, but, yeah- the argument did start over the moonstone, that much is certain. Most of the people in the, er, conversation? They died first, so, we don’t _really_ know…” 

“Yeah we do.” Slappy said. “Their grandparents were idiots and brought this upon us.” 

“Slappy.” 

“I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, Minnie. Do you know how many people I knew that died that day?” she gestured to the siblings. “Willo’s parents were killed before any of us even knew what was happening. So if Warnerstock is going to try and play the victim-” 

“We’re not ‘playing’ anything.” Yakko said quickly. “Listen, whatever happened, our Mom didn’t know.” 

“Maybe it was a misunderstanding?” Dot suggested. “I just… don’t see why you’d attack first, but I also don’t see why our grandparents would be dumb enough to try and take the moonstone.” 

“You’d be surprised how dumb people can be.” 

“This is getting sad.” Skippy said, bouncing on his tail. He glanced over to Dot and said, “So your Dad was one of us? And he married the Queen?” 

“Yeah.” Dot nodded. “I mean- I guess, I never actually… met them? The whole… ‘kidnapped and locked in a tower’ thing, you know.” 

Yakko put an arm over her, and then said, “Yeah, uh, our Dad was King William the Good. But I guess he was… Willo of the Northuldra.” 

Wakko began to play with his own paws, and then he said, “That might explain the old family lullabies nobody else knew.” 

“Yeah.” Yakko nodded. He began to play with the edges of his father’s scarf, and muttered, _“Where the north wind, meets the sea…”_

 _“There’s a river, full of memory.”_ Minerva and Skippy completed, nodding along. 

“Ah, yes, the ol’ drowning lullaby.” Slappy nodded. “Love how kids’ songs always gotta have some horrible warning in them.” 

“What was he like?” Yakko asked. “Our Dad?” 

“He was… real sweet- never tried to cause trouble, but he would go run off and come back covered in leaves and say he was playing with the wind spirit. Course, that was before she started trying to kill us every now and again. But he was always trying to help people out, make everyone less stressed.” she smiled a little. “He used to say that we shouldn’t be worried, because the world would always right itself, no matter what happened.”

“Dad was always an optimist.” Yakko laughed. 

Wakko flinched. “I mean… when he wasn’t… having an off-day.” 

“Listen, he had every reason to be depressed-” 

“I’m not saying he didn’t! But, you know, after Dot was kidnapped, he was always busy, or alone-” 

“Not _always!_ Don’t be rude.” 

“I’m not. I just…” Wakko shook his head. “Nevermind, then.” 

They all fell into an uneasy silence, and then Dot sat up and said, “So. You know about magic stuff?” 

“Yeah?” Slappy said. 

“You think you know more about my hair?” Dot held out her ponytail. “The Demanitus ghost thingy, he said that it came back when I touched the rocks so that the sun and moon could re-join or something.” 

“It is said the only thing that could destroy the moonstone is the sundrop.” Slappy said cautiously. “They’re supposed to be able to join together and return back to the spirits- but nobody ever knew where they both were and tried to put em together.” 

“Well. My dumb fake mom was keeping the sundrop from everyone so she could stay young forever.” Dot rolled her eyes. “But that does remind me- when we were fixing the Demanitus Device, we found this second incantation. The first one makes my hair glow and used to heal, but… the second one, I went all black and started sucking the life outta everything.” 

“Oh, you mean the whole ‘wither and decay’ spell?” Slappy asked. 

“Yeah! What’s that about?” 

“What it says on the tin, the decay incantation. But you said you ‘went all black’? Yeah, it’s the moonstone’s spell, not yours. So you trying to use it would overload you. Same thing would happen if you started the crescent incantation. But eh, let’s not get into that.” Slappy gestured to the sky. “It’s late. We can talk more tomorrow- you can chill with us, and then day after it should be safe to head out. Unfortunately, you all showed up after we moved camp farther away from the moonstone, so it might be a few days’ journey. By the time we get there… I guess we’ll know whether or not we can trust you.” 

She stood, gave them a wave, and left. 

“Cheery.” Yakko muttered. 

“You get used to her.” Minerva smiled a little. “And, no, you don’t have to go to bed immediately- if you want to sit by the fire and watch the stars, it’s fine.” 

“I wanna see all your shiny stuff.” Dot said. 

“That works too!” Minerva said, standing up. “Come on, my tent’s this way.” 

Dot leapt to her feet, giggling, and quickly followed at the mink’s heels. Wakko stood up to follow, but Yakko put a hand on his arm. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want,” he said. 

“But Dot-” 

“She’ll be fine.” 

Skippy glanced towards where his Aunt had disappeared to, and then scrambled over to the boys, sitting on his tail and bouncing. “Wanna hear something cool?” 

“Absolutely.” Yakko said. 

Skippy took a finger and began to sketch in the dirt- four symbols, the ones that had decorated the stone outside the forest. “So we got the four elements, right? Water, earth, fire, air.” 

“Long ago the four nations lived together in harmony.” Yakko muttered under his breath. Wakko elbowed him in the ribs. 

“Okay, but these symbols should be on your scarf.” Skippy said, holding out his hands. “Can I see?” 

“Uh, sure?” 

Skippy took the scarf, flipping it to an embroidered edge. “Yeah, here it is; most of our clothes have the symbols somewhere on them. And here, you’ve got all the symbols pointed in a diamond shape.” 

“Yeah?” 

“But look, in the middle!” Skippy gestured to a small, thick diamond, centered between all the symbols. “They’re all pointing at it. It’s a fifth spirit.” 

“Fifth spirit? Like, five elements?” Wakko asked. “What would be a fifth element?” 

“I dunno,” Yakko smirked, “Leeloo? _Hello, Nurse!”_

“You are _killing it_ with the references today.” 

“What can I say, I’m hilarious.” 

Skippy waited until the brothers were done giggling, and then said, “Okay, so, we have a couple theories- nobody really knows, any source on that spirit has been lost to time. But we think it might be some kind of _bridge.”_

“The element of bridge?” Yakko asked. “Cause we broke one just outside the forest and that could be a problem.” 

“Not exactly.” Skippy shook his head. “It’s not an actual bridge, but like… a connection between the magic world and ours. Both spirit and mortal.” He handed the scarf back to Yakko, who tied it back around his neck. “Some of the old people say they heard it cry out the day the fog happened. It was upset at all the fighting we were getting up to. It disappeared then- and I think that one day it’ll come back and lift the mist, and then we’ll get to see the sky, and the fifth spirit will stay here forever and ever and make sure that stuff never happens again.” 

Yakko smiled a little at the child’s optimism, and then said, “But in all seriousness- it’d be an element of nature probably, right? What has both nature and magic? Plants- is that different from earth? Sound? Explosions?” 

“If the fifth spirit was explosions, it’d be Aunt Slappy, and if she had magic we would _definitely_ know.” 

“I don’t doubt that! But what else you got? Clouds? Sky?” 

Though Yakko and Skippy, engrossed in their conversation, did not notice, Wakko felt his heart drop, and scooted back as the boys continued to talk. Because he’d just thought of something- no, no, that couldn’t be it. 

The fifth spirit wouldn’t be _light._ The moonstone existed and that wasn’t a _sixth_ spirit. The fact that the sundrop was supposed to be the only thing that could stop the moonstone… the moonstone that apparently caused the fog… 

He glanced over the fire, towards the edge of the clearing. Minerva and Dot had managed to dig up shining swords, and Minerva was teaching Dot some kind of defensive maneuver. They spun, their swords clashing together, and Dot laughed, her smile reflected in the firelight. Two young Northuldran kids raced up behind her, and she quickly turned, tossing them sticks, instructing them as Minerva had just taught her, inviting them to join in the fun. She looked so happy. 

He wondered, if the fight had never happened and the fog had never descended upon the woods, if they could have grown up here, as well as the castle- if Dad would have taken them all to the woods to learn about the spirits. If Yakko would have been more himself here, where magic wasn’t strange. Where they would have had a huge, extended family, instead of just a few people locked away. He imagined running through the woods with his siblings, climbing up trees and jumping over rivers, Gale lifting them up into the sky. He’d liked when she did that, when she swirled around them- it made him feel _free._ Alive. Like he was part of something- and he supposed he was. He was half-Northuldran. He was part of this tribe, just like his siblings. This was their home just as much as Warnerstock- and it was _so_ beautiful, probably even prettier before the fog. 

But they couldn’t very much stay forever. They had to find the moonstone, and once that was all done, they were going back home. Home, to the castle, with its narrow halls and low ceilings and stuffy air. Well, okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad, but after being locked in there for a decade, it’s what it felt like. But they _had_ to go home, they had a responsibility to their people. They needed a ruler. 

Well… they only needed one member of the royal family, didn’t they? 

Wakko looked to his siblings again. Dot was now play-wrestling with a lot of children, laughing and rolling in the dirt. Yakko was deep into conversation with Skippy, showing him the scarf and tracing the embroidery while they speculated. 

They were magic. They belonged somewhere with magic. 

What would he do if they wanted to stay? 

_They wouldn’t. We’re not splitting up ever again._

_…but what if they do?_

_What if they leave you alone?_

_What would happen to you then?_


	8. The View from Up Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's a bit short! Reminder that tomorrow I have an important class so I won't update- I'll see y'all on Saturday!

**CHAPTER EIGHT - THE VIEW FROM UP HERE**

Wakko fell asleep beside the campfire, awakening early in the day- or at least, he assumed, the sky was still impossible to see. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and taking note of everyone in the room. Rita and Runt were still asleep in their hammock, while Buttons and Mindy were snoring in theirs. Pinky and the Brain were sleeping in their little corner, and… 

Yakko and Dot were already gone. 

He felt a panic rise in his chest, and flipped his hammock; the fabric spun, sending him crashing to the floor. Once he landed, he scrambled up onto his legs and raced out the door, straining his ears for the noises outside. When he heard the crunch of leaves under feet, he leapt down the caravan steps, swinging around to the front and scanning the area. 

He relaxed only slightly when he spotted his siblings; Yakko and Dot were at the edge of the clearing, with Dot swinging on a tree branch while Yakko attempted to climb up the trunk. Skippy was already several branches above them, waving down, and by the time Wakko raced over, his siblings were already heading up. 

“Hey! Where are you going?” he asked, bouncing his leg nervously. 

“We’re gonna get a view of the forest.” Dot said simply, smiling over at him. “Come on up with us.” 

“Uh, I dunno-” 

“Come on! Three trees are  _ so _ pretty, and Skippy says the view from up here is even better!” 

“It’d be better with sunlight,” Skippy shrugged, “But it’ll do.” 

“Come on, Wakk, join us!” Yakko said, waving his hand. “The branches should hold our weight, and if they don’t, I’ll just make us an ice block to land on. It’ll be fun, promise.” 

Wakko hesitated, glancing back to the caravan, and then reached up, gripping onto a branch. He hoisted himself up, smiling slightly as his siblings cheered for him. He followed them up the tree, gripping onto the branches with his paws or tail, swinging up and over and hurrying up towards the top. Skippy, of course, reached the highest branches first, followed quickly by Dot, who let out gasps of joy. Then Yakko made it up, and he held out a hand to help pull his little brother to the top. Wakko took his cold hand, letting Yakko yank him up, and then turned and stared in awe at the view. 

From up here, they could all see the tops of the other trees, stretching out for miles upon miles, the leaves all fading into each other, into reds and oranges and yellows, blowing gently in the morning breeze like rolling hills or a rushing stream. A bird would lift from the leaves every now and again, sailing high and then swinging back down into the trees. And just beyond the line of trees, if they squinted, they could see a beach, and though its sky was also covered by fog, giving the water a gray, dark look, they could see moving waves, a few rocks peaking up and around like freckles on the sand that the water pushed against. 

“Wow.” Wakko said, leaning over onto Yakko’s shoulder. 

“Yeah.” Skippy smiled. “From up here, the forest doesn’t seem so trapped. Just shows you how big everything is.” 

“And how small.” Dot said, and Skippy nodded. 

Yakko squinted towards the beach, and said, “I didn’t realize this place was seaside like us.” 

“Yeah. We can’t get much farther than a mile or so out, though.” Skippy said sadly. “Aunt Slappy said a couple of your people tried to sail past the fog in the first year they were stuck here and it… didn’t really work out.” 

Wakko’s heart sank a little. “That’s awful. I can’t imagine…” 

He hugged himself and leaned against Yakko, who he knew was thinking the same thing. Yakko pulled him closer, and then said, “So. How far from the… moonstone are we?” 

Skippy glanced across the forest. “Few days’ trek. It’s over to the right- actually a bit closer to the ocean. It’s gotta be, the water spirit protects it, too. Or at least, it’s  _ supposed  _ to; it’s kinda been mad at us like the others.” 

“You ever seen it?” Yakko asked. 

“Not really; we try to stay away from the ocean and the moonstone cavern because we don’t want it to kill us.” 

“Mum used to say she saw it as a kid.” Wakko said, recalling a distant memory. “A horse, running across the ocean.” 

“Aunt Slappy says it’s a horse, yeah.” 

“Maybe we can get Phar Fignewton to become friends with it,” Dot quipped, “And then it won’t be mad anymore.” 

“Maybe I could do something.” Yakko said, staring off towards the sea. “I calmed down the wind and fire spirits.” 

Wakko flinched, and Dot said, “Maybe? You don’t wanna overshoot your expectations.” 

“But it’s water, I’m ice- that’s the same thing, almost, one’s just colder.” 

“If the spirits calm down and the moonstone’s joined with the sundrop,” Skippy asked, turning with excitement to the older children, “Do you think the fog will disappear?” 

“Of course.” Dot said. 

“And we’ll see the sky?” 

Yakko released Wakko in order to lean over and grab Skippy’s hands. “I promise,” he said. “We’ll do whatever we can to free this forest.” 

Skippy smiled widely and leaned over the branches to hug Yakko tightly. Yakko laughed, and Dot quickly joined in the embrace. 

Wakko just watched them, quietly, until it was time to go back down to the ground. 

Slappy and some of the adults came out to talk to the group about directions, as well as discuss who would be accompanying them to make sure they weren’t going to do anything stupid. However, Dot got bored several minutes in, and wandered off to the middle of camp to play with the kids again. One of the young boys excitedly showed Dot how to embroider the spirit symbols onto scarves or shirts, and she sat beside him, working on her own fabric and copying his movements. It was actually really calming, sitting and sewing the same pattern, over and over; on all these different clothes, these symbols were constant, but still unique, having been stitched by hand and thus not immune to the occasional mistake or elaboration. 

Eventually, Skippy came over with more children, and he asked if they could help her get leaves out of her hair, and she told them that if they got Mindy, the little girl could show them how to braid it, which excited them immensely. And so Dot ended up sitting on a small rock, hugging her knee and laughing, while Mindy excitedly called instructions to the older children, who were leaping around while layering her strands of hair. Rita eventually made her way over, muttered something about everyone still talking boring stuff, and then promptly fell asleep on her lap. 

Eventually, Skippy wandered back to see what his Aunt was up to, and when he came back, the other kids had properly layered and tied the braid, and were now decorating it with strategically-placed petals, with the younger children and Mindy working on a flower crown. 

“What’re they arguing about?” 

Skippy shrugged. “I think we wanna send a lot of people with you, but there’s not a lot of room in your caravan, but also we don’t want to just send a couple of our people off with people we don’t really know that well, but also considering how crazy your brother’s powers are there wouldn’t really be anything we could do against you anyway, and they don’t like that, and also your mice dads were saying something about-” 

“Ugh. Can’t we just  _ go _ already?” Dot groaned, shrugging, as Skippy started to pet a drowsy Rita. 

“What do you even plan on doing?” 

“Winging it, mainly. All we really know is Demanitus said the rocks’ll keep coming after me until the sundrop and moonstone join, whatever that means. I assume it means I poke the thing and it zaps the gold outta me finally. Or maybe it’ll just blow up.” 

“Not gonna lie, that’s a possibility.” Skippy said. 

“Oh, joy.” 

“Legends say that when they combine, they’ll create a force stronger than anything before it. And then eventually just disappear and head back to the spirit realm.” 

“Well, I’d prefer not to go to the spirit realm, so we’re gonna have to hope the sundrop just yeets outta me.” Dot shook her head. She began to fiddle with her hands, and said, “But, like… the  _ chances  _ of me blowing up, how big are those?” 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be fine! You guys are super  _ super _ cool!” 

“I don’t think coolness points will save us from a fiery explosion, but thank you anyway.” 

“Hey, your brother could just freeze the explosion.” 

“That might actually work, I’ll ask him when he doesn’t seem stressed enough to freeze the continent.” 

“That might be fun!” 

“Yeah, uh, not for him.” Dot glanced up, smiling as she saw Slappy finally leaving the group discussion, heading over. “Looks like they finally reached a verdict!” 

“Oh, I hope so. I was tired of hearing about ‘travel distance’ and ‘safety precautions.’” 

Slappy gave a quizzical look to the children still playing with flowers and Dot’s fur, and then gave Skippy a playful punch on the shoulder. “Get your stuff, I’m taking you with me.” 

“We’re  _ going?”  _ Skippy looked excited. 

“Yeah, it’s us and Minerva. We’re heading out in a few hours, tryna get there as fast as possible. So go get whatever you’ll need for a couple days- and that does  _ not _ include your conspiracy theory journals, we don’t have a lot of room in their caravan.” 

_ “Rrrright!”  _ Skippy bounced, before rushing off towards his tent. 

Slappy sighed, and then turned to Dot. “Okay, listen, Missy-” 

“My name’s not Missy.” Dot said, waving her hand. “I’m Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca III, but you can call me Dot! But not Dottie. Call me Dottie, and you die.” 

“Good to know. Listen- we’re going with you because you’re Willo’s kids. We have a basic trust going on, but we’re still aware that we  _ do not know you.  _ If you guys try anything on us, I have at  _ least  _ four explosives on me at all times, so-” 

“I understand,” Dot nodded, “And I get what you’re saying. But we really do just want to help. We’ll combine the sundrop and moonstone, and then everything will be okay.” 

“Even if you blow up?” 

“Wow,  _ everyone  _ brings up the blowing up thing!” Dot groaned. “No, I don’t want to blow up, but I’m sure it’ll work out from there. And hey- it’s my magical destiny quest, right? So whatever happens, it’s what was meant to happen.” 

“You got a lot of optimism, huh?” 

“Wakko always says that we should never ever give up hope! Things will always work out.” 

“Then your brother’s a lot like how you dad was when I knew him.” 

Dot’s smile flickered. “Really? I… wouldn’t know.” 

Slappy hesitated, and then patted her shoulder carefully. “So are you, kid.” 

_ “Really?”  _ she beamed, beginning to bounce a little. 

“Really. Now enough being sappy, it’s gross.” 

“Yeah, you’re not sappy, you’re Slappy.” 

“Ha ha. Get in the caravan and pray your brother doesn’t let me drive.” 


	9. The Rock Giants

**CHAPTER NINE - THE ROCK GIANTS**

Skippy swung from the hammocks, before bouncing across the floor, and then spreading himself out on the windowseat. “This is  _ so fun!”  _

“We’ve barely started moving.” Brain said. 

Ignoring him, Dot ran over to Skippy, picking him up and spinning with him across the floor. “I  _ know!  _ Isn’t it  _ amazing?”  _

“Oh, they’re going to be insufferable.” Brain said. 

“Yep.” Rita agreed. 

As they danced by, Minerva nervously curled up on one of the hammocks, a bit unused to the jostling movement of the caravan as it lurched over the forest paths. She kept one hand on her scabbard and an eye on the window or door, though occasionally glancing towards the front of the carriage, where there was a slight window to where Slappy and Yakko were sitting; they could hear Yakko gabbing about something or other, and occasionally the sound of his powers whirring to life- he was probably making snowflakes, or getting some practice in. He was still getting used to the whole “not repressing this stuff” thing, though his method of practice involved showing off as much as was toonly possible, so he was doing a pretty decent job. 

Eventually, Runt leapt up next to Minerva, cuddling against her. She jumped, and he said, “Oh! You’re soft, definitely, definitely soft! Mind if I sleep here?” 

“Kinda?” 

“Alright, thanks.” Runt curled up, and was snoring within seconds. Minerva hesitated, and then jumped again when Wakko sat on her other side. 

“Wanna see me pretend to throw up?” 

“Um. No.” Minerva said. 

“Oh. Do you wanna see some cool stuff we have from home?” 

“Actually… yes.” 

“Great! I brought my schoolwork so Nurse wouldn’t be disappointed in me for skipping class for a road trip. You wanna help?” 

“I… guess?” 

“Alright!” Wakko jumped up, and then stepped over Brain, Pinky, Buttons’s tail, Mindy, and several scattered boxes, knocked over sometime when Phar Fignewton was running from the Flame. He finally made it to the back, where they kept their storage, and dug through a crate until he found a book. He carried it back over to the table in his mouth, while Minerva carefully sat and gave him an odd look. He crawled onto the chair, dropping the book onto the wood, and then flipped it open, flipped it right-side up, and then said, “Yeah, here we are! We’re reading stuff about clothing or something.” He leaned over, and whispered, “Confidentially? It’s supposed to be Shakespeare time, but I’m waiting for Yakko to read those to me. He’s really good at it!” 

“Ooookay?” Minerva said. She pulled the book towards her, and said, “Oh! Yeah, this is a fashion timeline.” 

_ “Fashion timeline?”  _ Dot skidded to a stop, before leaping onto the table and flopping onto her stomach. “Oooh! Oooh! Tell us everything!” 

_ “Spew!” _ Skippy said, not being one for clothing, so he instead ran to the window to peer outside. 

Minerva glanced down at the book, and smiled a little at the fancy illustrations. She ran a hand over the page and said, “I think I can read this alright, yeah. Um… it starts about four-hundred years ago. Is that where you left off, Wakko?” 

“I dunno, I think so?” 

“Okay, well… clothing styles are usually different based on gender, age and species. You got that?” 

“Skip to the scary part.” Wakko said. 

“It’s a textbook, Wakko.” 

“Darn.” 

“I’m following.” Dot nodded along, playing with the flowers in her braid. “People wear different things. Keep going.” 

Minerva smiled a little. “I… I’m sorry, did people actually wear this?” She lifted the book and flipped it to show them the frilly hoop skirts and wild wigs. 

Wakko giggled, while Dot said,  _ “And  _ big hats! I hid my hair under one once.” 

“Must’ve been  _ huge _ .” 

“You’d better believe it!” 

“Did it at least look good?” 

“I don’t think so. Wakko?” 

“No.” 

“Well, there you have it!” 

Minerva laughed, and then turned the book back, running an excited hand over the page before continuing to read to the young children. 

“And so you thought that the best way to control your emotions,” Slappy repeated, staring at Yakko in confusion, “Was to lock yourself up and put intense pressure on yourself for years.” 

“Well, when you say it like  _ that-!”  _ Yakko rolled his eyes, leaning back on the seat. 

The night had just begun, but they could still hear activity from inside the caravan, as everyone bustled around and chatted loudly, so the two up front figured they might as well talk. Unfortunately for Yakko, the conversation had quickly turned to his own recent history. 

“Also,” Yakko added, “Keep in mind I was  _ five _ when I decided to do that.” 

“And you stopped when you were fifteen, and only after your siblings made you.” 

“Let’s stop talking about my psychological problems. What about yours?” 

“Believe it or not, we have what you’d call, erm, ‘therapists’ in the Northuldra. So we’re fine. Back to your crippling depression.” 

“Geez, let it go already.” 

“So what exactly makes  _ your  _ magic different from Little Miss Sundrop over there?” Slappy gestured behind them, towards the caravan. 

Yakko bit his lip, staring ahead at the forest. “Everyone knew where Dot’s magic came from. The sundrop that saved her  _ and  _ our Mom- people the Kingdom, you know,  _ like.  _ And it’s an old fairytale we all knew growing up. Not super surprising. But my ice just… it’s more dangerous, and we don’t know why I have it.” 

“Wait, ya don’t?” 

“Nope.” 

“No curses, wishes, magical rock trolls?” 

Yakko shook his head. “Dad said that when I was first born, nobody noticed at first, they were just kinda surprised by the fur, you know? But when it was just Mom and Dad alone, they noticed that when I cried, I… I kinda cried ice. Which  _ freaked  _ them out. They did research on their own about ice magic, but the only story we had was of Zhan Tiri the Stupid Demon turning into a snowstorm and cursing us.” 

“Augh, that-” Slappy then called her a word that she probably shouldn’t have said with children nearby. 

“You guys have that legend, too?” 

“Well, yeah. She was from your kingdom, Demanitus from ours. But it was centuries ago, your eyesore of a castle wasn’t even  _ built  _ yet, I don’t think. But the stories say Demanitus and Zhan Tiri would get along great and visit at the edge of the forest, and then went off to explore the world with a buncha pals. That’s when they did all that neat ‘invention’ and ‘magic’ business.” 

“Whoa.” Yakko leaned forwards, looking up at her. “Our kingdom doesn’t have that beginning part of the story. We just skip ahead to ‘Demanitus invented stuff.’” 

“Well, we have a lot of storytime.” Skippy smirked a little. “So we  _ would _ probably remember more stuff than a country that just writes it down and shoves it in a library til the book falls apart.” 

“Does your story change after? We just know that Demanitus and Zhan Tiri fought, she tried to freeze us, and then he made her go away.” 

“That about sums it up- storm was heading our way, too. Though- do your stories say anything about their pals?” 

“No, just them.” 

“Well, we don’t know a lot, but legends say there were three. They ended up siding with Zhan Tiri over whatever it was that split them up, and Demanitus had to get rid of em, too.” 

“Three…” Yakko closed his eyes, thinking. There had been those shadows in the cavern, ones Dot had accidentally summoned when overtaken by the Decay Incantation. Were there three? He thought he’d only seen two, and then the big one that he’d gotten to disappear. But Dot said they seemed to be followers of Zhan Tiri… 

“Uh, Prince Frostbite? Ya might wanna stop the caravan.” 

“Wh-” Yakko opened his eyes, and then immediately tugged on Phar Fignewton’s reigns, yanking her to a stop. “Aw,  _ crud.”  _

When the carriage jolted to a stop, Dot, who’d been sitting at the window playing “I Spy” with Skippy and Pinky, glanced cautiously towards the front window, before sliding off the seat and moving over. She stop on her tip-toes, peeking through to see that Yakko and Slappy were already getting off the caravan. “Yo? What’s happening?” 

They didn’t respond immediately, so she raced past the table, where Minerva was curiously chatting with Brain. She opened the door, stumbling down the steps and onto the grass. “Yakko? Slappy? What’s-” 

Yakko ran out from the other side of the caravan, shoving a hand over her mouth to shut her up. Annoyed, she licked his hand, causing him to let go. “Aw!  _ Dot!”  _

“What’s going-” 

“Shut up!” Yakko gestured behind them, and Dot turned. 

Just a little bit away, towering above them and only just in view, was what she at first thought was the side of a mountain, wondering why they hadn’t seen that in the distance before. Then it moved, the ground rumbling just a bit, and Yakko grabbed his sister’s arm, yanking her back as she noticed a leg lift up, and a stone face turn towards them. 

_ “Rock giants?”  _ she squeaked, as Slappy opened the caravan door and began shepherding people out. 

“Earth spirits.” he muttered. “They’re headed this way. Slappy says we don’t want to be stuck in one place in case they stomp on us. Okay, get everyone out, I’ll get Phar Fignewton somewhere nearby.” 

“Yakko…” Though she protested, he just gave her a quick hug and then ran to the horse, taking its head in his hands and talking quietly. Dot turned back to the caravan, where Mindy was stepping out, rubbing her eyes and yawning. 

The princess knelt down and picked up the mice, putting them on her shoulders, and turned to Slappy while everyone else glanced over and saw what she did. “What’s the plan?” 

“We stay outta their way. They’ll chase you if they see you.” 

_ “Seriously?”  _

“Oh, definitely.” Skippy nodded. “Aunt Slappy and I race them all the time. And we win! You know that because we’re still alive.” 

“Oh, that’s just wonderful.” 

“Dot!” Wakko ran out last, carrying a small bag of supplies over his shoulder, and then ran over to his sister, checking her over for injuries. After making sure she wasn’t injured, he whispered, “Where’s Yakko?” 

“Getting the horse to hide.” 

Wakko turned, seeing that Yakko had already let go of Phar Fignewton, gesturing for her to go hide. She carted the caravan off into the trees, and Slappy moved in front of the younger siblings, pushing them carefully towards the bushes. They nodded and moved quickly, sliding into the leaves. Rita leapt onto Dot’s lap from behind the branches, while Runt curled against her side, and Dot put a hand on each of the mice to make sure they stayed on her shoulders. Wakko glanced around, and then pushed his head just outside, hissing,  _ “Yakko!”  _

Yakko had started to head their way, but was now looking over at the earth giants, already walking closer to them, getting bigger and bigger and louder and louder. But the Snow King was standing still, a fascination across his face, and after a second, he stepped towards them, holding out a hand and summoning several flakes of magical snow. 

That was when Wakko burst out, ran over to him, and grabbed his arm, yanking him back. Yakko let out a surprised cry, which unfortunately drew attention; the faces turned to them again, the notches that seemed to form eyes lowering down. Wakko pushed his brother into their gathering of bushes, and as soon as they were hidden, he hissed,  _ “Why did you do that?”  _

“Let go!” 

Dot scuttled over, narrowing her eyes.  _ “Please  _ tell me you were not about to follow them!” 

“What if I can settle them?” Yakko said, eyes flashing. 

“Or what if they  _ crush you  _ before you get the chance?” Wakko said. 

“I’ll be fine.” 

“Maybe you  _ won’t!”  _

“Why don’t you let me  _ try?”  _

“Because it could  _ kill you!”  _

“Guys, shh!” Dot said, sliding herself between her brothers. “They’re heading our way.” 

“Poit!” Pinky added. 

“Yeah, poit! Shh!” 

They did quiet, just as they began to feel rouger rumbles and louder thumps. They stared through the thick leaves as the wind began to change, and waited until they saw a huge, stone foot  _ stomp  _ through the clearing. When it lifted, they could see crushed trees behind its path, and Dot quickly reached over to hug Yakko’s arm, both as a comfort and as a precautionary measure, as she already saw his eyes trailing the lifting rocks. 

The giant seemed to pass, and then another, but then the stomping abruptly stopped. Dot froze, staring ahead, as they heard the rocks shift.  _ Stomp, stomp.  _ They were turning back, looking towards them. 

Dot hissed, and then turned, grabbing both of her brother’s arms and pushing them further through the bushes, until they could see the vague shapes of the rest of their group. “What’s happening?” she asked, directing her question to Slappy and Skippy. 

“I think they heard us.” Slappy muttered. 

“But we were  _ quiet!  _ And trust me, that is  _ hard _ for us to do.” 

“Maybe they smelled us?” Runt muttered. 

“They don’t smell things, or they’d have already noticed your dumb muddy paws.” Minerva muttered. 

“Could they sense us?” Rita asked. “In, like, a spirit-y way?” 

“They’ve never been able to do that.” Slappy said, pulling Skippy closer to her. “Spirits can sense each other, but not just random people.” 

Wakko flinched. “They’d be able to sense us if we were spirits?” 

“Yeah, but we’re not, so shut up, maybe they’ll move on.” 

More thumps, and then they saw a rocky foot step just beside their bushes. They jumped, pushing back, and Pinky began to whisper, “Oh, narf! That’s not good.” 

“No  _ dip,  _ Pinky,” Brain said, though he didn’t say ‘dip.’ “What did you think we were hiding from the rock giants for?” 

“Oh, I wasn’t referring to them.” he whispered back. “I was referring to the fact that I can’t see Mindy.” 

Everyone completely froze over, and then let out groans as they heard her light, cheerful voice, just outside the bush hideout. 

“Hi, Mr Rock Men, whatcha doin?” 

Buttons let out a whimper, beginning to push through the leaves, as they heard a dark snort while the earth giant looked down and noticed her. 

“Why?” 

Another snort, and then another stomp as the second giant came closer. 

“Why?” 

The giant lifted its foot, and Buttons yelped and leapt out, pushing Mindy out of the way of its step. She laughed as he did, and shouted, “Okay, I love ya, buh-bye!” 

The rock giants let out very upset noises, and began to follow after the dog and toddler. Buttons kept carrying her, skidding through the area and trying to duck between their feet, to keep themselves from being crushed. The giants were starting to move towards them- and thus, towards everyone else. 

“Son of a-” Slappy groaned, before standing up and throwing Skippy farther into the woods. She then ran out, diving forwards to once again knock Buttons out of the way of a step. She then picked the toddler up off of the dog’s back, and shouted, “Hey! Rocky Roads! Come and get us!” 

_ “Slappy!”  _ Minerva shouted, shocked. 

Slappy gestured something to her, and then took off running in the opposite direction, Buttons at her heels. Yakko jumped up, raising his hands to shoot ice, but soon Minerva grabbed him and pulled him back. “Everyone after me!” she called, before picking up Rita herself and taking off running. 

Dot was about to question, but when she saw one earth giant tearing off towards the direction Slappy went, and the other slowly turning in their direction, she quickly obeyed, reaching up to make sure the mice were still with her and then taking off, reaching down to push a fleeing Runt in the right direction. Her brothers quickly raced up beside her, and they pushed themselves farther into the trees, hoping to evade view. 

When they heard the second giant head after them, they knew they had, indeed, been spotted- and, more importantly, that they were going to have to run _much_ _faster._

What they didn’t know was that, next up, a lot of things were going to happen very, very quickly. 


	10. Stolen Power and Fallen Ships

**CHAPTER TEN - STOLEN POWER AND FALLEN SHIPS**

They didn’t dare look back, but they could still feel the thuds of thick, huge footsteps, not that they could tell from how far back or how close they were. Minerva eventually bent down to pick up Skippy as well, carrying the cat and young squirrel as she led the group through the woods. When they reached an area of thick branches, she dropped Rita atop of Runt and used her now free hand to unsheathe her sword and break through the foliage, keeping them moving forward. 

_“Yakko!”_ Wakko shouted again, frustrated, as their brother stopped, turning and looking up to try and see if they were still being pursued. Unfortunately, they were, and the shout drew the attention of the one earth giant still following. 

Yakko hissed and pushed Wakko back, and Dot groaned, glancing behind her towards her fleeing friends, and then back to her brothers, who were tugging on each other now. They’d have to get into the trees faster, Yakko’s fur stood out like a sore thumb among the dark plants. 

His… fur… 

Dot blinked, several horrible ideas popping into her head at once. But they were better than no idea, so she took a deep breath before looking down towards her mouse dads. 

“Hey, I’m gonna do something stupid, is that cool?” 

“No!” Brain said, at the same time Pinky shouted, “Yes!” 

“Alright, that’s a majority vote, hold on to my fur.” 

_“Dot, no!”_

Dot tugged on her braid, and then took off in another direction, singing as loud as she could. 

_“Flower, gleam and glow! Let your power shine! Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine!”_

Her hair lit up, as she pushed through the leaves, and she knew she’d caught attention. The thuds followed her, and she kept running ahead, singing along, until she finally noticed the trees begin to thin. She could hear her brothers calling, just a little bit behind her- but already behind the rock giant, who was stepping over them, following the glowing fur. 

Now she just had to hope that her idea worked. 

Dot finally reached a clearing of trees, relieved to see that a cliff lay ahead, sliding down to a rushing river. She skidded to the edge, watching the rocks beneath her feet scatter off the ledge, crashing very far down. 

“Dot, you better have a good plan,” Brain said slowly, “Because your hair is still braided up and you won’t be able to swing down there.” 

_Thump. Thump._

“Well, I have an _idea,_ but I distinctly remember saying it was stupid.” 

“Oh, joy.” 

_Thump._

“Hang on tight, just in case this goes horribly wrong.” 

“Dot, _what_ are you planning?” 

The ground shook once more, and Dot spun around, looking up to see the earth giant behind her. It towered high above, its head almost out of sight, and it stood just outside of the clearing, among the trees, over the ones it had already squashed. It looked at her with some form of interest, of curiosity. She almost felt bad, like she shouldn’t be trying to fight it… but then it lifted its leg, ready to step more towards her, and fear crushed into her stomach. It lifted an arm of stone, ready to throw it down, or toss a rock from it- whatever it was planning, it was going to crush her, and all she could do was… freeze. 

Well. That was the intention, wasn’t it?

Her fur began to dim, and the foot landed. The other lifted, about to drop just in front of her. 

Dot shut her eyes, put comforting hands over the mice, and then she sang, her voice breaking. 

_“Ah-ah, ah-ah!”_

And then she felt so, so cold. 

She remembered something Slappy had told her- that the decay incantation had taken her over because it wasn’t her magic to command; and once she was able to summon the power, once she’d said the words enough times, it took her over completely. It was the power of the moon, and she was the sun. And she remembered, the last time she’d sung along to Yakko’s call, that she’d felt this cold, and there was a sense of wrongness, that this wasn’t her power to call upon. 

But as she sang, she felt ice burst from beneath her paws, spreading across the cliff. The giant’s foot came down upon it, and just as she’d predicted, it slipped. 

Dot’s next plan would have been to duck as if sped forwards, about to topple, but she was completely frozen in place, ice gluing her feet to the ground. White color flashed before her eyes, and she couldn’t see a single thing, only the blinding light before her. Her blood ran cold, her limbs felt numb, and for a moment, she just felt something _pushing_ inside of her. And just for a second, she thought she could hear the song echoing back.

Then she felt a tiny, tiny grip on her shoulder. A distant call, from far away- _“Dot! Dot, wake up! Dot!”_

She focused on the voice. It wasn’t the one singing. It was familiar, though. 

_“Dot! Please! Move!”_

_Brain!_

She snapped to attention, and suddenly the world came back, her vision slamming into her. She almost stumbled back, but managed to drop down to the ground instead, as she felt the weight of the giant’s shadow above her. The world darkened, and she put her hands protectively over the mice on her shoulders as the creature above them toppled and fell. 

Dot breathed deep, trying to regain her composure. She glanced down at her fur, which was fading from white to yellow. Back to normal, back to something _right._

She heard the giant drop, and the fierce splash below as it landed. She breathed a sigh of relief, and Pinky said, “Well, that sure was something!” 

“Dot, what in the hell-”

Dot tried to get up, only for her paw to slip on the ice. She screamed as they slid back, instinctively putting her hands back over the mice to keep them in place, and then her feet met open air, and for a moment, she was falling, dropping. 

And then Yakko dove forwards, grabbing her braid. She screamed as he jolted her back, giving her fur a sharp tug, trying to drag her back to the surface. She heard Wakko shouting something from behind him, but she was a bit more preoccupied with keeping herself and the mice in one piece; though her brother had a hold of her braid, she was continuously bouncing against the cliff wall, banging into the rocks. 

Wakko grabbed onto his brother’s chest, trying to help him pull Dot back up, but they couldn’t get a grip on the ice-covered ground. Yakko glanced down at the ravine, seeing the giant had already been washed away by the stream. It flowed back into the forest, while the other end… he could see distant sand, beside the river’s opening into wide, pushing waves. The ocean… 

_Ah-ah, ah-ah…_

Yakko took a deep breath, and then said, “Alright, you guys wanna play on an iceslide?” 

_“What?”_

Yakko took a deep breath, and then leapt from the cliffside, Wakko still on his back and Dot’s fur in his hands. They both screamed, while Yakko shut his eyes to focus. 

Ice appeared just below Dot, Yakko and Wakko crashing behind her as she landed and began to slide. Yakko then let go of her hair, holding out his hands to create their pathway to safety. 

It was much shorter of a ride than their trip on the ice slide to Warnerstock, as the beach was within view, and their speed meant that it didn’t take long for them to reach the area. Yakko capped the slide off at the edge of the sand, so they tumbled into it, landing with a soft _thud._

Yakko sat up first, calling, “Everyone alive?” 

Dot poked out of the sand, pounding her hand against her head to clear sand from her ears, while Pinky said, “Whoo-hoo! Let’s do that _again!”_

“Let’s _not!”_ Brain huffed, having to climb out of a pile of sand. 

Wakko stumbled to his feet, shaking his fur to clear it, and then called, “What is _wrong_ with you two?” 

Yakko glanced up at him, opening his mouth to speak, and then he froze over. 

“Yakko! We were supposed to _run_ and _stay together!_ And now we don’t know where _anyone_ is! Dot, what the _hell_ were you thinking? What were you _doing?”_

“Well, it got rid of the giant, didn’t it?” Dot retorted. 

“You could have _died!_ You could have _both died-”_

“Wakko-” Yakko said, his voice barely audible.

“You are not _invincible!_ You _could all be dead-!”_

_“That’s Mom’s ship!”_

Wakko stopped mid-thought, his mouth hanging open. He looked to Yakko, who was shaking and staring ahead, and whipped around to follow his gaze. 

At the edge of the beach was a wrecked ship, a torn Warnerstock flag draped above. Its wood was dented and rotting, but it was painted with recognizable symbols, the mast curled in a familiar shape. 

“What?” Dot asked, confused and still a bit upset, picking up the mice again. “What are you _talking about?”_

Yakko couldn’t speak anymore, only letting out a strangled cry before taking off running to the boat. Wakko shook, hugging himself, before running after him, and Dot after them. 

When Yakko reached the boat, the others were already close behind, as he had to take a second to stumble through a hole; a large rock had pierced the side of the ship, leaving the lower deck defenseless against the rushing tide, fierce winds, and decay of the months it must have been here. The ship was tilted, but Yakko managed to find his footing, stumbling across the floorboards and whirling around. Most of what had been in there had been swept out to sea, but he could see remains of boxes, torn clothes, bits of molding, now-infested food, while puddles under him had become home to small crustaceans, who didn’t care at all about the scene happening above them. 

“What _is_ this?” Dot asked. 

“This- this is-” Wakko was stunned; too many things were happening at once. He slid against a wall, curling up against the wall and tugging on his ears to try to calm himself down. _“This is Mum and Daddoo’s ship.”_

“What?” Dot turned, her braid hitting against her back. 

_“This is their ship but they- why are they here?”_

“They were…” Yakko tried to speak, stumbling to a nearby busted cabinet, opening the door as if something could still be in there. “They were supposed to be heading South! They were going to a _wedding!”_

“I don’t know if you noticed, brother dear,” Dot said, “But this is _North.”_

_“I know that!”_

“How would this ship get through the fog?” Brain said carefully. “We were informed that the fog blocked off this part of the sea as well, it shouldn’t be able to reach.” 

“Unless…” Yakko’s breath caught in his throat, and he froze once again, holding back tears. 

“Nobody was on it.” Dot said. 

Pinky let out a quiet _“Narf…”_ while Wakko tugged on his ears harder, already starting to cry. Dot stepped towards him to comfort him, but Yakko made it first, rushing over and putting his arm around him to lift him to his feet. 

“This is… this can’t be right.” Dot shook her head. “No. _No._ This is- Yakko, you know maps, where would we be?” 

“Near the Dark Sea.” he said, almost robotically, not focusing at all. 

“If they were heading South, there’s no _way_ this ship could’ve ended up here. It would’ve sunk completely before even reaching shore.” 

“So were they heading up this way?” Pinky asked. 

“Why would they-?” Dot shook her head. “Ugh, I guess there’s a lot of possible answers to that. But then why lie about it? Why not just say…” 

Wakko suddenly straightened, wiping his face with his sleeve, and he tripped over himself, rushing to a far wall, upon which hang several shelves, already beginning to topple and decay. He began to climb them, while his siblings let out shouts of shock. Dot ran over, reaching her arms to catch him if he should fall, but he instead scrambled onto a high shelf and began touching the wooden planks. 

“Wakko, what are you doing?” Yakko called. 

“There’s… there’s _always_ a hidden compartment here.” Wakko murmured, struggling to get his hands to work right. “Scratchy told us! When we were studying boats- Yakko, do you-” 

“Yeah.” Yakko nodded. “But that’s for important papers that they can’t risk getting wet, it’s not big enough to hold anything important.” 

Wakko found the right plank and ripped it from the wall, tossing it over his shoulder and letting it crash and break on the floor. He reached behind it, pulling out just one paper- a rolled up scroll. He turned, leaping back down to the ground and spreading the paper on the floor. His siblings dropped beside him, staring down. 

It was a simple map of the surrounding area, nothing too special at first glance, though it was already showing signs of wear. But then Yakko squinted, and pointed to a notation over Warnerstock. “That’s Dad’s! That’s his handwriting.” 

“And that’s Mum’s.” Wakko, choked up, gestured to a note about the tides at the edge of their kingdom. 

Dot felt a pang in her chest, but she put it aside, trying to focus for her brothers’ sake. She leaned over, tracing one of several pathways drawn. “What are these- those numbers?” 

“Days.” Yakko muttered. “See, here, Warnerstock to Camelot, that’s a seven-day trip by boat. And there- from us to Bedrock, on the other continent, it’s about a hundred days.” 

“Where did they say they were going?” 

“Here- it was just supposed to be two weeks there and two weeks back.” 

Dot put a finger on Warnerstock, and then a line that extended into the sea, and then up, past the lands of the Northuldra. It continued up, with the marking of _~14?_ beside it. “So as long as it would take to get…” 

Her finger landed on what wasn’t a marked landmass, but instead a drawing, of a flowing stream- an odd thing to mark in the middle of the ocean. 

“That’s Dad. Dad drew that.” Yakko said, recognizing the style. “But I don’t remember anything being _there.”_

Wakko wiped his face again, while Pinky and Brain jumped down from Dot’s shoulders, moving to the area. Brain began to read a small note written. 

_“The river found but lost.”_ Brain read. “That’s nonsense.” 

“But here!” Pinky added, pointing out another, more hidden note beneath the river. _“Magic’s source.”_

Yakko’s eyes widened. “Ahtohollan.” 

“Gesundheit.” 

“No. Ahtohollan.” Yakko said, reaching to grab Dot’s hands so she’d meet his eyes. “The river, in the song. It was _Dad’s_ song- _where the north wind meets the sea, there’s a river full of memory.”_

“You said,” Dot remembered, her brain whirring, “That the river is supposed to hold all the answers to the past. But it’s not real?” 

“Dot, _we were just chased by earth giants, anything can be real.”_ Yakko said. “And apparently _Mom and Dad_ wanted to go _find it!_ But…” he paused, and then looked towards the mice, something coming to mind. “Water has memory.” Then he let go of Dot, turning and running a few steps ahead, before dropping and putting his hands to the floor. 

“Yakko!” Wakko cried, backing up against the wall; everything was crashing in on him, and he could barely handle it. 

“Water has memory.” Yakko repeated, and then he shut his eyes, focusing. “Water has…” 

Slowly, droplets began to rise from the floor. Dot gasped, backing up towards Wakko, who squeezed his eyes shut and was trying to breathe normally. The water rose, forming around Yakko, and suddenly voices began to echo. 

_“-all magic. It’s all there.”_

“No!” Wakko tugged his ears harder, gasping. “Stop it! _I don’t want to hear them- stop it!”_

_“We have to keep going.”_

_“The forest spirits answer to the sun, the moon, and the-”_

_“It’s the source of_ all _magic. We can-”_

_“-the ship is flooding! We have to-”_

_“I can’t get the doors open!”_

Yakko gasped, eyes flying open, and looked up to see the droplets had formed, shifting into a frozen statue, just like the ones he’d made in the forest. Only these were forming two adults, clinging to each other as their ship went down. 

_“No!”_

Wakko screamed, his voice breaking, and he took off running, covering his eyes. Yakko burst into tears and followed. 

Dot started after them, but paused a second, almost transfixed upon the statue, horror dawning on her. 

_That’s what they sounded like. That’s what they looked like._

_And it’s what they looked like when they…_

Wakko collapsed on the sand, shaking and hugging himself, loud sobs bursting from him. Yakko soon dropped beside him, and as soon as Dot was out, the mice slowly climbing out behind her, Wakko started to shout, “Why would you _do that?”_

“I- I thought- I don’t _know-”_

_“Why?”_

“I’m sorry! I didn’t-” 

_“I didn’t want to hear them die!”_

“You think I _wanted_ _that?_ You think hearing what they said was _nice?”_ Yakko snapped, his voice rising. “You heard them! They were going for _magic’s source!”_

“What does _that matter?”_

“They were trying to find answers about _us!”_ Yakko began to cry, too, and Dot soon dropped beside him, hugging him close. “You _heard it!_ They wanted answers about _me_ and about _Dot-_ the sun and… whatever the _hell_ I am! They were still trying to find her and they were trying to help me and it _killed them!”_

“Stop it! _Stop it!”_ Dot shouted. 

“It’s _our fault!”_

She grabbed onto Yakko’s shoulders, putting her face under his and rubbing their noses together. “Look at me. It’s not your fault! It’s not _our_ fault, don’t say that. You were not responsible for their choices.” 

“No, just their _deaths.”_

“Stop!” 

_“No! I caused everything! I was right before!”_ Yakko began to tremble. “Everything around me _dies!”_

“Stop that _right now!”_ Dot reached out, pulling a sobbing Wakko towards them, trying to make her brothers look at her. “Stop it! You are not a burden, you are a _gift, Yakko!_ You wanna know why you have magic? It _must_ have been a gift. Because our father saved our mother! His enemy! His good deed was rewarded with _you-_ to one day bring the forest back and make the fog go away. You’re not a punishment, you’re a blessing, now _stop falling back into this guilt!_ It’s not helping anything, and- and I may not _know_ our parents, but I know they wouldn’t have wanted you to blame yourself!” 

Her tears flowed faster, and Yakko kept hugging himself, clutching tight enough to hurt. Dot pulled them all into a group embrace, and they stayed there together, crying and rocking in the breeze, until finally their tears dried and their limbs felt numb. The wind changed around then, the tides slowing, and it felt like too much time had passed and yet none at all. 

When Yakko finally pulled away, Dot pulled his face up, and said, “Now. Repeat after me. It’s not your fault.” 

“It’s not my fault.” 

“You’re not a monster.” 

“I’m… not a monster.” 

“You’re our big brother.” 

Yakko glanced towards Wakko, who was staring into the air and huddling under his sweater. Eventually, the younger boy looked to his brother, and then said, his voice broken from how long they’d been crying, “You’re our big brother.” 

Yakko wiped his eyes, still trembling slightly. “What… what is _happening_ today? Too much is… we should find the others. The caravan. We need to… the… or maybe we could…” 

“You’re not thinking clearly.” Dot whispered. “You need to sleep.” 

“I need answers.” 

“And you’re not going to get that when you can’t think at all.” 

They heard a pitter-patter behind them, and Dot turned, seeing the mice scrambling across the sand. Pinky looked up at her and said, “Are you alright? Narf!” 

“Yeah, narf.” 

“We… assumed you would want time alone.” Brain said. 

“Good assumption.” Dot sniffled. “Where were you?” 

“Scouting the nearby area. Attempting to spot our lost comrades. And-” 

“There’s a house. Just on the edge of the beach, it’s huge! Looks like loads of people live there.” 

“Nobody lives here but the forest people.” Yakko blinked. 

“Well, tell that to the house! _Zort!”_

Yakko paused. “We should… maybe the others got there. Maybe they found an abandoned place and set up… come on. It’s… somewhere to head. I…” 

He had difficulty standing, so Dot got up first, helping lift him up. She patted his hand, and whispered, “I’m sorry. For a lot of things.” 

She helped Wakko to his feet, and began to walk, hand-in-hand with her siblings, after the mice, who ran off to show them where they were headed. Yakko was trying desperately not to think about the boat they were passing, and to grip Dot’s hand in his, to think only about the fact his siblings were here and they were okay. Dot, for her part, was trying to push aside everything that had happened- the rock giants, the separation from the group, her temporary possession, and their parents, dying on the ship, with that being the only time she heard their voices. 

Wakko, meanwhile, was thinking the same thing over and over. 

_Don’t think like that. Don’t think like that. Don’t think like that._

_You’re being selfish. Don’t make this all about you. Yakko and Dot are hurting, too. And Yakko’s hurting_ so much, _you need to make him happy again. He doesn’t deserve this, and neither does Dot. So stop being selfish and make everyone else feel better. That’s what you_ do. 

_Yes, you miss them. Yes, you loved them. And they loved you…_

_But…_

Wakko glanced to his siblings, and then down at the ground. 

It stung, somehow worse than the ice in his heart had. 

_In everything we found, we_ saw, _in that boat…_

_They didn’t mention me at all._


	11. The House of Yesterday's Tomorrow

**CHAPTER ELEVEN - THE HOUSE OF YESTERDAY’S TOMORROW**

The house on the beach was indeed towering, built against the cliffside. It was darkly colored, with flickering orange windows, and a long shadow, casting over the ocean and surrounding rocks. But what was most impressive… 

“You didn’t tell us,” Dot said slowly, “That this thing was made out of giant seashells.” 

“Oops.” Pinky said. 

The building was, indeed, seemingly made of shells; augers served as spires above clams and scotch bonnets, scallops hanging above as awnings and shark’s eyes on ledges, reaching high and pointing the edge of their spiral towards the sky. 

“Yes, it’s quite an odd architectural decision.” Brain nodded. “Though appropriate for the beach atmosphere, I doubt the shape can be very practical. As well, I don’t see much solid ground beneath it, so this could topple at any time.” 

“I think it’s pretty!” Dot said hopefully, linking her arm with Yakko’s; her brothers were still very quiet and very shaken, and to be honest, she still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock of what had just happened. 

Carefully, though, Wakko looked up and said, “I think that it’s kinda creepy.” 

“Aw, it’s homey!” 

Yakko considered. “It’s tall, dark, mysterious, and likely to fall at any moment.” he then shrugged. “Sounds absolutely perfect!” 

“Come on, let’s see who lives there!”

They began their walk over, and when they reached the curved door, Dot lifted the mice, again putting them in their normal positions on her shoulders, and said, “So, if this isn’t our group hiding out in here, we gotta play nice so they let us stay the night. We probably don’t wanna be outside in an enchanted forest at night alone.” 

“And once they’ve left us alone,” Brain said, “We have a  _ lot _ to talk about. Such as… whatever just happened today.” 

“Ugh, fine, but don’t  _ dad _ us too much.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean, young lady?” 

Dot gave him a look, and then knocked on the door, stepping back and putting an arm around Wakko. 

The door opened, just a creak; they couldn’t really see who was looking out at them. 

“Hi!” Dot fluttered her eyelashes, putting on her cutest smile. “We  _ really  _ hate to bother you, but we’re lost and trying to hide out from the earth giants, so we were wondering…” 

The door opened wider, and they looked at an older man, giving them some kind of pained smile. “Earth giants? Oh, those certainly are a problem. I see your dilemma; would you like to come in? I have plenty of room.” 

“Oh, thank you!” Dot immediately leapt up and kissed him, the mice barely hanging onto her shoulders. 

He flinched back, but still forced a smile on. “It’s no problem. I could use the company on these cold, foggy nights.” 

“You live here… alone?” Brain said cautiously. 

“Yes! Now come on in, before you catch your death of cold.” 

He gestured, and they cautiously entered, Yakko putting a protective arm around Wakko. Dot dropped down from the man’s arms and began to examine the room; the inside had ridges filling the foyer, which towered above like a tulip shell, smaller tulips creating decorations, small windows decorated so their panels were shaped like flying bubbles. A large, warming fire was set in the middle of the room, giving them a flickering, happy light. 

“Wow, this place is amazing!” Dot said. 

“It is, isn’t it?” 

Brain still looked concerned, and shot Yakko a look. “Are you one of the forest-dwellers?” 

“Who, me? No, no. I’ve lived on these shores for thirty years, just collecting the odd shells.” 

“Thirty years is a long time to be alone.” 

“Well, I’ve had visitors now and then. Just like now!” he moved to a wall lamp, pulling out a match to light it as well. 

“Thirty years would be before the fog.” Yakko muttered, before looking up. “What did you say your name was, Mr Hermit Crab?” 

“I’m not a hermit crab, my young… what are you?” 

“Not a hermit crab.” 

“Right. My name is Plotz, Thaddeus Plotz- and this is the lovely House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow.” 

Yakko blinked. “So. Today.” 

“What?” 

“The House of Today.” 

“No, no, the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow.” 

“That would be today.” Wakko noted, already sitting beside the fire and rocking slightly. 

“Yeah, if it were yesterday, then tomorrow would be today.” Dot said. “And tomorrow, today would be yesterday. While today, tomorrow is tomorrow and yesterday is another day’s tomorrow.” She winked. “See the difference, kid?” 

“I don’t believe you understand-” 

“I’m following.” Pinky said, gesturing from Dot’s shoulder. “Today is yesterday’s yesterday’s tomorrow’s tomorrow, and tomorrow is today’s yesterday’s tomorrow. And troz is poit’s narfy zoit.” 

“I have a headache.” Brain groaned. 

“And if today is yesterday’s tomorrow, and tomorrow is yesterday’s tomorrow’s tomorrow,” Yakko said, counting on his fingers, “And yesterday is today’s yesterday’s yesterday’s tomorrow, which makes  _ that _ tomorrow tomorrow’s yesterday, and today is tomorrow’s yesterday!” 

“And I’m hungry!” Wakko said, before taking a bite out of a carpet. 

The man looked incredibly annoyed, but the bit of light humor had done wonders for the Warners; they were already relaxing their shoulders, breathing steadily, and feeling like they could keep moving on. To drive home their joke, Yakko raised his brow and said, “Annoying, aren’t we?” 

“No, no, you’re…  _ fine  _ children. And… mice, I suppose.” Plotz stepped forward, gesturing to the spiral staircase. “There are refreshments in the lounge, and a nice cozy room just beside it. Help yourselves, while I finish cleaning up.” 

“Food! Thank Spielberg.” Wakko said, running over and grabbing Plotz’s arm, bouncing up and down. “I like to eat when I’m stressed and I’m very very stressed right now!” 

“Good to hear. Don’t touch me.” Plotz yanked his arm back, causing Wakko to crash to the floor. 

“Thank you again, Mr Plotz. You must be really nice and generous.” Dot said. “And trust me! You won’t even know we’re here!” 

“Don’t promise him that, you know how we are.” Yakko whispered. 

“Let’s head up, boys.” Dot said. She went to the stairwell, but did stop a minute and turn to Plotz. “By the way, some friends of ours are still lost out there. If you come across two squirrels, a mink, a cat, two dogs, a toddler and/or a horse pulling a caravan, those guys are with us.” 

“Good to know.” he said, not at all worryingly. “It’s up a floor, and the third door on your left.” 

“Alright, I’m gonna pretend I can remember directions, Mr Plotzy-Man.” Dot shrugged, and then began up the stairs, her brothers slowly trailing after her. 

They reached the first floor, and Dot stepped into the hall, lowering the mice to the ground, before saying, “Yeah, uh, I don’t see any doors?” 

“Maybe it’s down a bit.” Yakko said.  _ “Love  _ these decorations. Very creepy, great aesthetic.” 

Indeed, the walls were littered with scallop-shaped lights, flickering ominously and quietly across the pale walls. Every few feet was a portrait, hung above the lamps, or a table upon which sat a decorative bowl filled with trinkets. Wakko went to one, picked up a strange sphere, and ate it, while Pinky wandered to the side of the hall, where a low mirror hung. 

“Hey, Brain, check this out!” Pinky started doing odd movements, staring into the mirror, like sticking out his tongue or doing a little dance. 

Brain walked over beside him, glanced in the mirror, and then did a double take and jumped back when he saw that Pinky’s reflection was not mirroring his actions, instead doing its own crazy dance. Brain glanced at his own reflection, and thought he saw a flash of red eyes. 

“Nope, we’re not doing that.” Brain grabbed Pinky’s arm, dragging him away, while Pinky waved at their reflections. “That looks like a nightmare. We’re not dealing with that.” 

Yakko trailed his hand against the wall as they walked, and finally it turned into a forked path. Down both ends were several tall doors, uniformly filling each wall and sharing the exact same design. He whistled, and then said, “Okay, boring. Dot, which way did he say we were supposed to go?” 

“Who knows?” she said mysteriously. 

Brain sighed. “Third door on the left is food.” 

“Yay!” Wakko said. 

“Now, consider:” Brain said, holding up a hand to stop Wakko from rushing forward, “This is all incredibly strange and… worrying in some instances.” he gave the mirror a glance. “Perhaps we should not consider eating here.” 

“Why?” Wakko said, not understanding at all. 

Brain tried to think of a way to explain. “Have you ever heard the legends of- the fae, for instance? If you eat their food, they then own your soul.” 

“That’s the fae’s problem.” Wakko shrugged. 

“I swear- just be  _ careful,  _ alright?” 

“I’m hungry.” 

Brain sighed. “You know what? You want to be the fae’s problem, be my guest.” 

“Yay!” 

They managed to find a room with several blankets, and they decided to use that instead of wandering around looking for decent beds; most of the rooms were a bit… strange. One was filled to the brim with children’s toys, another held nothing but a towering wardrobe, and another had several… erm,  _ interesting- _ looking weapons. When Yakko opened a door to see three very angry wolf-like creatures, Brain had slammed the door and immediately announced they were crashing in the first room that didn’t look like it wanted them dead. 

So Dot rolled up a blanket for the mice to sleep atop, as Wakko spread out a few for them. They were quiet a moment, just working on their own, and then Yakko said, “So. Are we gonna… talk about it?” 

Dot laughed nervously. “We all cried on the beach, I think we got our feelings out.” 

“It’s just… there’s a lot.” Yakko sat across from Wakko, trying to meet his eye, but the younger Warner brother just kept playing with his paws. “I… I’m sorry, first of all. I didn’t realize it… I was just hoping to hear a discussion, see… something they were doing. I didn’t think it’d… end like that.” 

“It’s alright.” Dot lied, before sitting beside the mice’s blanket, as they scrambled up beside her. “You didn’t know, and… we were all very stressed.” 

“I just… Mom and Dad were looking for Ahtohollan.” Yakko said quietly, playing with the edge of his sleeves. “And… it looked like Dad had mapped it out, and thought it close. But they…” he clenched a fist. “What if it  _ is _ close? And has all the answers?” 

“It… doesn’t matter.” Dot said cautiously. “We need to find the moonstone, and after that… then maybe we can look for your magic frozen river.” 

“Yeah! Yeah, I know, it’s important to…” Yakko bit his lip, and then tugged on his ears, obviously hearing that call again. When it faded, he said, “I’m staying with you guys, at least until we get to the moonstone. I’m not leaving you.” 

Dot smiled at that, but Wakko’s frown deepened, as if Yakko had said exactly the wrong thing. Yakko hesitated a moment, but before he could think of something to add, Brain said, “Now, onto matters just as pressing. Dot?” 

“Yes?” 

“Would you like to explain to us what exactly you did on that cliff?” 

Dot went pale and tried to avoid anyone’s gaze. “I… got rid of the earth giant?” 

“You went all white.” Pinky said. “And your eyes were white, too, and you wouldn’t move until Brain started shouting.” 

“Y-yeah, I think Brain snapped me out of it.” Dot muttered. 

“Yeah, Dot, that was worrying.” Yakko said honestly. He leaned over, taking her hands, and said, “Promise me you’ll never do that again.” 

“I- I don’t know. What if we-” 

“Please, Dot. You being possessed by dark moon magic is bad enough, but  _ my _ magic…” he shook his head. “I don’t even understand how that happened. You shouldn’t be able to summon my magic.” 

“I just sang your little thing.”

“What?” 

“Though I wonder…” Dot paused, narrowing her eyes. “I could harness the moon’s power, though it took me over, and the same with yours. But I haven’t felt called to any other magic we’ve seen- you’d think when there was fire everywhere I’d figure out how to control it and make Little Mx Bruni stop throwing a fit. What’s  _ different,  _ between that magic and the ones that I can touch?” 

“Dot. We… maybe we can figure that out. But just like you said-  _ after  _ the moonstone.” 

“What if it’s important to our little quest?” 

“You seem to be doing fine on your own. Just promise me that you  _ won’t  _ steal my magic.” 

“I don’t technically think I  _ stole  _ it, just shared it for a bit. I mean, you didn’t lose your powers while I was going nuts.” 

“How do you know that, I wasn’t using magic.” 

“You’re always using magic, you made your own ice-magic-clothes.” 

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.” 

“But okay, fine, I promise no more snow stealing.” she nodded, and then turned to the mice. “And I’m sorry I dragged you two into that. I was scared if I put you down I’d lose you in the forest.” 

“A completely understandable worry,” Brain sighed, “Considering how we’re of… diminutive size.” 

“We’re shorties!” 

“Quiet, Pinky. But just as Yakko said, we would appreciate it if you didn’t take unnecessary risks, for your sake as well as our own.” 

“Alright. More careful, so long as Yakko promises the same thing. No running after earth giants.” 

“No running after earth giants, no stealing magic…” Yakko began counting on his fingers. He glanced towards Wakko and said, “Can you think of anything else?” 

Wakko didn’t respond a moment, and they thought he might not have heard them at first. Then, carefully, he said, “We’re sticking together, right?” 

“Of course. We promised we’d do this together, and that’s what we’re doing.” Dot said. 

“That’s…” Wakko began, but cut himself off and shook his head. “Yeah. Okay. I just… seeing Mum and Daddoo like that, I…” his voice broke a little. “I don’t want to be alone again.” 

“You won’t be.” Yakko promised him. 

Wakko fell silent again. 

Dot fell asleep quickly, her hair still braided up but falling over shoulder. The mice had fallen asleep on top of each other, while Yakko eventually fell into an uneasy slumber; Wakko noticed it took him a long time, and he tugged his ears a lot and shoved his head under a pillow. That voice was calling him, calling him  _ away, _ and it wasn’t giving up. 

Wakko wished he could hear the voice, too, so he could tell it to shut up. 

He wanted  _ everything _ to shut up. Every horrible thought in his head, making him feel awful about his family, his friends, and himself. Every memory that was shoving itself to the front of his head- his parents’ shouting in the crashed ship, Dot completely white… 

When he’d seen her like that, he’d had a terrible thought, horrified that she may have frozen, like he had not so long ago. He wouldn’t wish that on anybody, especially not his baby sister. It had hurt so much, not that he’d ever let Yakko know that in a million years. And it  _ still  _ hurt, every time his legs gave way, and exhaustion pressed his eyelids down, and his stomach lurched for no reason at all. Hello Nurse had said that it was probably just his body returning to normal after being completely frozen over, that it would stop soon, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. It hurt  _ so  _ much, in so many ways. 

And, you know, he  _ really  _ wished every noise around him would stop, too. He felt like he could hear  _ everything-  _ the cool breeze shuffling, the snores of his companions, every kick of the blanket or creak of the floor beneath them. And every… 

Footstep? 

Wakko sat up, perking an ear higher. Yes, someone was walking outside their door- it was probably just that nice Mr Plotz, going to sleep himself. But then the footsteps stopped, and Wakko could see a shadow from under the door, of the man standing just outside the room. He wondered if maybe this was Plotz’s room and they’d taken it by accident- no, no, he’d have a bed, wouldn’t he? And a dresser. This room was just blankets. Maybe he had to grab one? 

But then the man kept walking. Maybe it had been a coincidence, he’d just happened to stop outside of where his guests were sleeping soundly. Yes, that was probably it. Just… a coincidence. 

Still, he felt cold again, and he grabbed another blanket, wrapping it over his shoulders. He then glanced towards his siblings, wondering if they were shivering, too. He stood up, grabbing more blankets for them and spreading them over, humming a little bit to himself as he worked. He hummed that old song, the one that played in the mobile in Dot’s room- that was the song in his childhood music box, too, he recalled. It felt sad, now… cleaning his little sister’s room, waiting for her to come back, that felt like a lifetime ago. Not just a few months. Now he couldn’t imagine Dot not being there. 

But she might not always be there. She might want to stay in the forest, with things that were magic like her. Yakko might want to stay, too- that seemed more likely, and more worrying. 

_ I’m staying with you guys, at least until we get to the moonstone. _

_ Until.  _

It was starting to seem more real, as he sat back on his pile of blankets and buried himself inside. The fact that he could be alone again, at any time. They could leave him, and then what could he do? 

What would he even  _ be _ without them? He’d be  _ nothing,  _ just like he was before. 

He grabbed the sheets tighter, trying to muffle his soft cries. But he could still hear them, even if nobody else could. 


	12. A Maze of Halls

**CHAPTER TWELVE - A MAZE OF HALLS**

They awoke early the next morning, and folded up the blankets beside the door. They felt a bit bad, considering the Warners had shed on theirs, but hopefully they could offer to help wash them before they left. 

“We got everything?” Yakko asked. 

“We didn’t bring anything in with us.” Dot said. 

“We got  _ everyone?”  _

Dot did a quick headcount. “You, me, Wakko, mice dads on my shoulders… yeah.” 

“Okay! Let’s find Mr Plotz and thank him for his hospitality-” 

“And for the food!” 

“Yes, Wakko, and for the food.” 

Yakko opened the door, then, and immediately froze in place. 

“What?” Dot asked. 

“This… is the wrong hallway.” 

“What? There’s only one door, you can’t have-” 

Yakko let the door swing open farther, and they stared, awestruck, at the hall. It was, indeed, different, colored blue instead of the pale pink of last night, and with multiple flickering torches hanging from the wall. There were no more decorative bowls, but there were portraits- only they were much different than the ones they’d seen last night, painted in darker colors. 

“Well, that’s messed up.” Dot said. 

“Oh, I don’t like this.” Yakko said. 

“It definitely looks bad.” Brain said. “And I’m starting to wonder if we really should have decided to spend a night here. We may have acted in an illogical manner due to our sleep-deprived and overstressed brains.” 

“I don’t know what that means, but poit!” 

“Okay. I’m… sure this is completely normal for the enchanted forest?” Yakko said cautiously. “Everyone follow me, we’ll, uh, keep walking, and eventually we’ll find the way out, right?” 

“I mean, I guess.” Dot shrugged. “This place can’t be eternal, can it?” 

“Oh my God, what if it is?” 

“Then I’ll eat a wall.” Wakko suggested. 

“Oh, yeah. Good to know we always have  _ that  _ option.” 

They began to walk, with Wakko sliding his hand into Yakko’s and clinging to his arm. Dot skipped along behind them, inspecting each portrait with interest, commenting on the style or use of shading. Nobody was really paying attention, with their nerves on edge. 

They turned another hall, and another, and another. The walls faded from blue to a dark green, to a shimmering gold, but they saw no signs of an exit, a stairwell, or even any windows. Dot fell silent after a while, hugging herself and starting to slow, a slight tremble in her steps. Yakko got more and more on edge the farther they walked, and after about an hour, Wakko started to notice frost forming on the floor. 

“Yakko, are you okay?” 

_ “I’m fine! Peachy keen! A-ok! Absotively positutely never been better, I’m gonna go do cartwheels!”  _

“...do you want to sit down a moment?” 

“I want to find our way  _ out.  _ I don’t  _ like this.”  _

Brain glanced around the hall and said, “Dot, lower us to the floor, I may have an idea.” 

She did so, and Brain gestured for Pinky to follow him, and not to wander off after something shiny as he was apt to do. He then ran them over towards a mirror, leaning against the wall; it looked much different than the one they’d seen yesterday, but he had a bit of hope. He tapped on the glass, watching his reflection do the same. “Hello? Hello?” 

“Hullo!” Pinky cheered, and began dancing; Brain huffed as he realized Pinky’s reflection was copying his movements as well. 

“What’s up?” Yakko asked, walking behind them. Wakko dropped down, also peering into the mirror and ruffling his fur a little. 

“The mirror in last night’s hall seemed, as you would say, ‘enchanted.’ I guess I should not have assumed every mirror would be- still, it would have been quite useful if we could have a simple chat with false reflections and find our way out from there.” 

“Eh, I dunno.” Yakko shrugged. “But maybe we should start opening doors.” 

“I still suggest that we don’t incur the wrath of guard dogs again.” 

“Maybe one of these doors is a stairwell?” 

“The stairs we took up here were not blocked by doors.” 

“Maybe there’s an emergency exit. There’s  _ gotta  _ be a better way out of here- I’ll be honest, this building does  _ not _ seem up to code.” 

“How could we be so foolish as to allow ourselves in here?” 

“Hey, who you calling foolish?” 

“Us.” 

“Oh. Well, yeah, you’re right, we’re all idiots. But we’re idiots who have a determination problem, so we are getting out of this place, or, like Wakko said, we’re gonna make it the problem of whoever decided to keep us here. I’m thinking we pull an anvil outta thin air and drop it on their heads.” 

“Can you pull an anvil out and drop it through the floor?” 

“I dunno, let’s see.” Yakko stepped back, and formed an anvil out of ice. It crashed onto the floor, and shattered into bits of frost. “Okay, that didn’t work.” 

“We’re doomed.” 

“Aw, cheer up, Brain!” Pinky said, putting an arm around him. “It’s only been a little while, I’m sure we’ll find our way out soon. And we’re all together, all four of- oh my God we lost Dot.” 

Yakko whipped around, realized Dot was not behind them, and then shouted,  _ “Oh, son of a-”  _

Wakko let out a cry, before reaching down to lift Pinky and put him on his own shoulder. Brain didn’t notice his gesture, so he simply grabbed him by the tail and swung him up. Brain shouted, as Yakko continued to call. 

“Dot!  _ Dot! Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca III! Get your butt out here or I’m gonna freeze you in place!”  _

Wakko took a step, and Yakko immediately turned, grabbing his arm. “Nope! You’re not going anywhere!” 

“You think I’m dumb enough to wander off, too?” 

“You’re not leaving my sight. She can’t have gone far- we didn’t see her pass us, she must have doubled back for something. Okay. Okay, while we go, we test all the doors. There’s gotta be one that leads to an exit or- or the right hall or- wherever she went! Come on!” 

He hesitated, and then began the call again-  _ Ah-ah, ah-ah!  _ It was something Dot would recognize, he knew, and something he hoped she would hear. 

_ Ah-ah! Ah-ah!  _

Dot didn’t hear the singing. 

Her brothers and dads had wandered to the mirror and had some kind of conversation, but the second the mice left her, she’d felt herself tense up all over, and she shook so hard she could barely stand up. She wasn’t thinking clearly, and just had one thought- 

_ Get outside.  _

She took off running, tears springing to her eyes, and she tugged at her ears, stumbling and tripping over nothing. She wasn’t sure how far she ran, but she only stopped upon her legs finally giving way. She dropped to the ground underneath a huge portrait of flying birds, and began to sob, to  _ scream.  _ Her stomach hurt, like something was  _ stabbing  _ at her from the inside, and her head was spinning. She felt like she was going to throw up, but nothing came from her mouth but shouts of agony. 

Her braid fell over her shoulder again, and she clung to it, running her hand over each ridge and strand. 

_ Her hair was up. Her hair was up. Because she wasn’t in the tower anymore. She wasn’t in the tower, she was okay.  _

_ You’re trapped. You’re trapped. You’re trapped. You’re TRAPPED.  _

It felt like the walls were closing in on her, the ceiling lowering to crush her to dust. She kept clinging to the braid, trying to use its pattern to remind herself that she wasn’t in the tower, she was in a new place, and her family was here and they loved her and didn’t want her trapped and locked away, and they were going to find a way out… 

_ No windows. No doors. You’re trapped again, Dottie.  _

_ NO!  _

She screamed, tugging on her braid, before curling up on the floor and sobbing into the cold, hard floor beneath her. 

She didn’t hear the singing. She didn’t hear  _ anything.  _

_ “Dot! DOT!”  _

Yakko kept shouting, frost trailing after him to mark the path they’d taken. He eventually let go of Wakko, but only so they could check doors on both sides of the hall at the same time. Not a single room made sense- he didn’t see a single study, or bedroom, or library. Instead, he saw discarded sheets, splotches of paint with no paintbrushes or art to join with them, one room that he thought was the outside but turned out to just be filled with apple trees for no reason… 

“Okay, we’re officially screwed.” he finally said, turning around. “We’ve been wandering for  _ Spielberg  _ knows how long, I’m pretty sure our legs all hurt, and we have  _ no idea where my stupid sister is!”  _

Wakko put the mice on the ground, before going to the next door. “She’s gotta be here somewhere.” he opened it, looked in, and then closed it. “Nope, that’s a room full of nightmares. Maybe this one…?” Open, shut. “That one’s just filled with  _ fire.  _ How is this house still standing?” 

Yakko opened a door on his side. “I… think this one is just turtles.” 

Wakko trembled slightly, glancing over. “We’re gonna find Dot, right? We’re gonna find her! Here, I bet she’s just down the next hall.” 

“We are  _ screwed!”  _

“We can’t give up on her! We’re  _ not  _ giving up on her!” Wakko insisted. He ran to the end of the hall, and said, “Okay! We’ve got new color- this is more of a… turquoise?” 

“How are we getting  _ farther  _ from where we started?” 

“Keep calm. Don’t freeze anything- Brain, Pinky, make sure he doesn’t turn to ice. I’ll start checking rooms.” 

He went to the next door, and the next, and the next. No stairs, no outside, and no Dot. His heart beat faster the farther they went, but he kept his chin up, trying to push themselves on. Their sister had to be here, how did she even get this far away from them in such a short time? 

Well, obviously, it wasn’t a  _ distance  _ thing. This house seemed to have a mind of its own, shifting and spinning. Maybe it was mad at them for making fun of its name yesterday. Or maybe that Mr Plotz had something to do with it. Maybe they shouldn’t have trusted him. Maybe Wakko shouldn’t have eaten all that food last night. Maybe… 

“Mirror!” he called, and raced over. A mirror, identical to the one the mice had seen the night before, lay against the wall and inbetween two doors. While Yakko ran over, lowering the mice in front, Wakko checked both doors- one led to another, identical hall, and the second led to what looked like some kind of prison. He was  _ sick  _ of this place! 

“Uh, well. This is definitely an enchanted mirror.” Brain said. 

“Either that, or it’s broken! Narf!” 

“Why’s it broken?” Wakko asked, not looking down at the moment. 

“We have no reflections.” 

_ “Egad,  _ Brain! Have we become vampires?” 

“I think we’d know if we were vampires, Pinky.” Yakko said. “We’d start counting everything, for one. We’d have sharper fangs, probably. Already be drinking each other’s blood.” 

Wakko knelt down to look in the mirror; indeed, there was no reflection. “Is this what it was like last night?” 

“No. It was simply  _ wrong  _ reflections- strange eye colors and movements.” Brain cocked his head to the side. “It’s likely a gateway to somewhere. But how to get in or out… alright, Pinky, we’re going to need several materials.” 

“Alright!” 

“A stick of butter, several butterfly nets, a monkey wrench, a fishing pole, three springs-” 

“That sounds ridiculous.” Yakko said. “But I can make like half of those outta ice.” 

Wakko had been watching the group, but then noticed something out of the corner of his eye- something flash across the mirror, like a shadow. He turned, ears perking up, as the shadow disappeared over the top. He leaned forwards, sniffing the glass. 

Then the corner cracked. 

He jumped back, and shouted, “The thing’s breaking!” 

Yakko quickly scooped up the mice, and the brothers ran back against the wall, staring as more cracks appeared across the mirror’s face. Then, with a  _ burst,  _ the glass exploded, flying forwards and scattering on the floor. Yakko threw up an ice shield for them, and through it they could see the flickering image of something crawling out of the frame. 

“I am going to _strangle_ that _bald_ _nerts_ with my own _two paws!”_

Yakko dropped the shield, letting it fly into the air as several magical sparks.  _ “Rita?”  _

Yes, Rita had climbed from the mirror, her fur sticking up on end and covered in some kind of dust. Runt clambered out of the portrait next, with Skippy riding on his back; both looked just as dirty and winded. Then, finally, Minerva climbed out, looking just as angry as Rita. She got to her feet, unsheathing her sword, which was covered in some kind of metallic liquid. 

_ “I’m going to kill the next thing that tries to eat us!”  _

_ “Minerva?”  _

Minerva turned, shocked, and dropped the sword, running forward and hugging the boys. “Oh, thank the spirits!” She then backed up and slapped them. “What were you  _ thinking,  _ running off without us?” 

“Trust me, I understand your feeling now.” Yakko said, rubbing his face. “What are you  _ doing  _ here?” 

“We came looking for  _ you idiots!”  _ Rita said, stalking over and giving them sharp glares. “Where’s Dot?” 

“We’d like to know that, too!” Yakko said. “What do you mean you came looking for us? How’d you find us?” 

“We have a  _ dog,  _ idiot! Rita got him to sniff you out.” 

“It took way longer than it should have.” Rita groaned, gesturing to Runt, who had sat down and was now scratching himself. Skippy slid from his back and ran over, clinging immediately to Rita. 

“What were you doing in the mirror?” 

“We got sucked in by evil reflections, apparently.” Minerva hissed. “They tried to replace us but Skippy managed to drag them all back in, and we’ve been fighting them for quite a while. Thankfully we seem to have lost them, and I broke the mirror so they shouldn’t be able to get ou-  _ wait, this isn’t the hall we entered the mirror in!”  _

“Yeah, this place is a labyrinth.” Yakko waved a hand. “When did you get in?” 

“Last night.” 

“Did you see Plotz?” 

“Yes, he told us that you were here and to head up to the hall with the mirror in it- that complete  _ jerk _ seemed to think that’d get rid of us, I guess!” 

“Okay, okay.” Yakko clapped his hands together, glancing at the mice on his shoulders. “So we made a horrible mistake in trusting him. Good note.” 

“You did  _ what?”  _

“We asked to spend the night here.” 

Minerva blinked. “Has nobody  _ ever  _ given you the stranger danger talk?” 

“In our defense,” Yakko said, “We’ve all been isolated most of our lives. We don’t know how the world works.” 

“And  _ what  _ about you two?” Minerva put her hands on her hips, glaring at the mice. 

Brain said, “Sleep deprivation,” at the same time Pinky said, “We are not smart!” 

“Wait, Runt! You sniffed us out!” Wakko said, having a delayed reaction. He ran to the dog, grabbing his face. “Can you sniff out Dot?” 

“Oh, everything smells like cinnamon in here.” 

_ “Cinnamon?”  _ Rita turned, gaping at him. 

“Honestly, it smells like old dusty air.” Yakko said. 

“It smells like  _ ash!”  _ Rita said. “Did you all not notice?” 

Everyone stopped and smelled the air, and then shook their heads. 

“Must be a cat/dog thing.” Rita groaned. “Runt, no, that’s not cinnamon. It doesn’t even smell the same, how are you- nevermind. We gotta find Dot and bust our way  _ out _ of here. Oh, and then I’m going to find Plotz and claw his eyes out.” 

Another thought came to Brain, and he said, “Minerva, do you know what this place is?” 

“No! I’ve never seen it before in my  _ life!”  _

“Neither have I.” Skippy added. “And I’ve been to the beach  _ loads _ of times with Aunt Slappy.” 

“Where the  _ hell are we, then?”  _ Yakko shouted. 

“We’re in deep  _ crap  _ is where we are!” Rita added. 

Wakko tugged on his ears. “Stop it! We’re not gonna get anywhere by shouting!” 

“Honey, we just punched our own evil alternate selves into puddles of melted glass,” Minerva said, “I think we deserve to have a little bit of a panic attack!” 

“Well, freaking out isn’t going to help us find Dot and get out!” Wakko said. “So all we need to do-” 

Another door burst open behind them. They all jumped, and Minerva lifted her sword again, pushing Skippy behind her. Yakko threw out his hands, ready to summon blasts of ice, while Runt wagged his tail, excited to see who was there. 

Out of the door came Slappy, dragging a whimpering Buttons behind her, his legs bandaged. Mindy rode on his back, hugging his neck. Without even looking at them, Slappy shouted, “They turned me into a _ freaking baby!”  _

“Aunt  _ Slappy!”  _ Skippy shouted with glee, pushing past Minerva and running to her. 

Slappy instinctively held out her arms to pick him up, and once she had, she blinked in surprise. “Skippy? What are you-?” She looked up, seeing the whole group, and then shouted, “Oh, you’re  _ all here!  _ That’s  _ perfect!” _

“How did you-?” 

“Buttons tracked you-” 

“We had Runt sniff out-” 

“Wait!” Brain held up his hands. “If there are dark reflections of ourselves in this house, how do we know you’re who you claim to be?” 

“Can it, mouse, or I’ll stuff your pants full of dynamite.” 

“It’s her.” Skippy assured Brain. 

“Minerva, what happened to your hair?” 

Minerva looked panicked. “What  _ happened to my hair?”  _

“What happened to  _ Buttons?”  _ Yakko asked. 

_ “We  _ happened, unfortunately.” Slappy groaned. “Buttons tracked you here and we broke in through a window-” 

“You didn’t just knock on the door?” Wakko asked. 

“No! This thing is clearly a house powered by dark spirit energy, we’re not gonna let him know we’re  _ here!  _ But then Mindy ran into this room of kids’ toys and spun a top and suddenly I’m a toddler and Buttons had to catch us  _ both-!”  _

_ “Dark spirit energy?”  _

“How  _ blind are you all?”  _

Yakko hugged himself, and then said, “Alright! We can argue on the way, but we need to press on! We need to find Dot!” 

Slappy, realizing the golden princess wasn’t there, shouted, “You  _ lost Dot?”  _

“Not by choice, trust me! But if this place is full of dark spirits- they wanted to  _ kill _ her back in Warnerstock! We need to find her  _ now!” _

When Dot recovered from her panic attack- which took too long,  _ far  _ too long- she stumbled to her feet and began wandering down the hall, shivering and hugging herself and calling for her brothers. 

Her mind was still dizzy, her stomach and legs aching beneath her. She wasn’t sure why she’d even run, only that she hadn’t felt the ability to stay there another second. She was tired and cold and  _ scared  _ and she just wanted to get  _ out.  _

She heard footsteps ahead of her, and sped up slightly, perking up with hope. She turned the bend, desperately wishing she would see Yakko or Wakko or Pinky and the Brain… but no, it was just that Mr Plotz, lighting the lamps that hung on the wall. He didn’t seem to notice her at first, so she just stood at the end of the hall, staring. Then she burst into tears again; she couldn’t stop herself anymore, she just began to wail, too many emotions overcoming her. 

Plotz turned, and blew out the match he’d been using, before dropping it to the ground and walking over. He said, “Now, now. What’s wrong, young visitor?” 

“I- I- I-” she tried to speak. “I’m  _ lost.”  _

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I should have known my house would be confusing- here, come with me, I’ll get you back home.” 

Dot nodded, and he took her hand, leading her down the hall. She sniffled, glancing at the dark portraits hanging beside them. “Wh-where did you get all this art?” 

“Oh, it’s just a collection. I’m a bit of a collector, I’m sure you’ve noticed.” 

“K-kinda.” 

Plotz opened a door, shepherding her inside. The room was dark, but Dot didn’t really mind. She stopped, standing put, as Plotz went to light the lamps along the wall. 

“You must be so upset.” 

“I am.” 

“I’m very sorry about that. But you’ll be alright in just a moment. Are you well-rested, at least?” 

“I guess.” 

“Fed?” 

“Uh, not really, but it’s okay. We have food in the caravan. We’ll… we’ll go find that.” 

“Hmm.” Plotz finished lighting the lamps, but it didn’t seem to brighten the room at all. “I could get you something.” 

“N-no. We’re fine. We should just get going and find my siblings- where are we?” 

“Somewhere that’ll help, princess, don’t worry.” 

“I don’t understand.” Dot shook her head. “We should just go through the hall-” She froze, then something dawning on her. 

“Yes?” 

“How did you know I was a princess?” she said, feeling numb. 

“What?” 

“We never… told you that.” 

“You never told me a lot of things.” came Plotz’s voice from across the room. 

The lamps immediately flickered and died, and Dot felt something wrap against her leg. She screamed, trying to move back, but fell on the ground. Something else grabbed her other leg- a  _ vine?  _

Plotz’s voice grew darker, and it sounded like he was suddenly everywhere at once. “You may have defeated my former associates, but they were weak. They didn’t have the full power that Zhan Tiri offers.” 

“Let me  _ go!”  _ Dot screamed, trying to drag herself towards the door; unfortunately, more vines clamped around her. One grabbed her braid, and she screamed as it tugged back. “Let  _ me go!”  _

“Everything will be fine, Princess. You’ll get to go home, and so will our mistress.” 

“F- _ Flower, gleam and glow! Let your power shi-”  _ Dot tried to sing, but a vine wrapped around her mouth, gagging her. Her fur did light, for only a minute, and only enough that she could see the green-lit shadow ahead of her, its eyes fierce and triumphant. 

“You can’t use your stolen magic here- neither the flower inside you, or the unclaimed power you’ve been channeling with the energy of the sun that shines over all. Now just relax, it’ll end much faster that way.” 

Dot tried again to scream, again failing, and her fur dimmed, leaving her in pitch blackness. 

Vines continued surrounding her, enveloping her, dragging her to the center of the room. She felt like she was floating, falling, staying in one place and being dragged everywhere. But worst of all, she was being  _ suffocated.  _ The vines kept pressing around her, around every inch of her, dragging her down and squeezing tight. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t  _ move,  _ she was  _ trapped…  _

And then all at once, she was home… 


	13. Dotopia

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN - DOTOPIA**

“Angie? Are you alright?” 

Dot gasped for air, turning her wild eyes on everything around her. She’d just rocketed up in bed, her covers flying off of her. She reached and gripped at her mattress, and glanced down, her eyes widening as she saw her arms were smoky black. 

“Angie! Hey, hey! Look at me!” 

Dot shook slightly, but flickered her eyes up. Yakko and Wakko had just climbed onto the edge of her bunk, and were watching her with concern. Yakko reached out a hand, stroking her dark shoulder. “What’s up? You have a nightmare?” 

“I… I…” she tried to speak, but her thoughts were all jumbled together. He shouldn’t be here… no, he _should…_ she shouldn’t be in bed… she should be… she should be… _where?_

“What happened? It’s alright, just tell big brother all about it.” 

“I… I was… there were… vines? I think?” she tried, but even that was slipping. “And glowing eyes, and… I don’t know?” 

“That’s alright, we forget our dreams real fast, don’t we?” Yakko said. “But you’re safe now. You’re safe with us, forever.” 

“I… I am.” Dot repeated. She reached up a hand to her hair, only to find it was a pixie cut again. “Shouldn’t my hair be longer?” 

Yakko laughed. “Longer? Angie, you’ve never had it longer than that as long as you’ve been alive.” 

“I… I guess so. I… I’m sorry. I guess I’m just confused.” 

“Well, you just woke up.” said Wakko sympathetically. “I get confused when I wake up! Remember two years ago when I tried to eat Yakko?” 

“Yeah, I had to freeze you to the wall to get you to snap out of it!” Yakko laughed. 

“Two years… I…” Dot shook herself, and then a _calmness_ washed over her. 

_Oh. It’s okay._

“Dot?” 

“Yeah. Two years ago.” she repeated, smiling. “That was funny.”

“We’re hilarious.” Wakko nodded. 

“Now, Angie,” Yakko said, grabbing her hands, “We better go get dressed! We gotta go over stuff for your coming out party tonight.” 

“Coming out party?” Dot said. “Everyone knows we’re not totally straight.” 

Yakko laughed, hard. “Good one! Good one, Angie! But you know what we mean- you’ve got to…” he did a mock bow, taking on an accent similar to Wakko’s. “Present yourself professionally to high society.” 

Dot giggled. “Oh, yeah! You know, I should wear a really big, funny hat.” 

“Just take one of Wakko’s spares.” 

“Take one of my hats and I’ll bite you.” 

“I don’t doubt it!” 

“Well, hurry it up and get dressed.” Yakko punched her playfully on the shoulder. “Mom and Dad’ll have a _fit_ if we’re late again.” 

Dot froze over, some shock overcoming her she didn’t understand. “M-Mom and Dad?” 

“Yeah! They’ll be up already, planning for the ceremony.” 

“Mom and Dad?” 

“Mum and Daddoo!” Wakko nodded. “Come on, don’t you want to see them?” 

Then, all at once, the shock was gone, and the calmness set in again. She smiled, nodding along. “Yeah. Yeah, I would like to see them. Let’s go.” 

Yakko went down the ladder first, before making a small snowflake ornament to hang on their bedside, humming a little song. Wakko climbed down, jumped to the ground, and did a handstand, laughing. 

And then Angie slid down the ladder, landed on the floor, and got ready for her normal, ordinary, happy day. 

Angie tied her ears with a nice little bow, and put on a fancy pink skirt, spinning around so her brothers could _ooh_ and _aah_ at her adorableness. Wakko changed sweaters, and Yakko made himself fancy clothes out of magic. Angie paused a moment, wondering if she should question that- had he always been this comfortable with his magic, with himself? 

Yes. He had. Don’t be silly. 

She held her brothers’ hands, and they skipped down the hall, smiling at everyone they passed, pleased that everyone seemed just as happy as them. The windows were all open, letting the warm breeze fill the halls, and letting the bright sun dapple shapes on the floor. Angie ran her hands happily along the walls, which were just wide enough, didn’t seem confining at all- why would they? 

They reached the dining room, and for some reason, Angie felt a hesitation outside the door. But then Wakko moved past her, muttering about her being too slow, and shouted, “We’re _here!”_ as he threw open the door. He raced in, running and leaping into arms, and Yakko raced after him. 

Angie stalled, carefully putting her hand on the doorframe and pushing herself into the entryway. She looked into the shining dining room, with its polished table and beautiful chandelier, hanging paintings and mirrors and decorative statues, beautiful doors, plentiful food waiting for her on the table… 

And Mom and Dad. 

Queen Angel was holding Wakko, rubbing noses with him, while Yakko hugged King William, who spun him around, laughing. Angie stared at them, taking in every detail; the way her mother’s ears drooped like hers, necessitating the hairtie, and the way her fur fluffed out and shone in the light. The way her father stood tall, his tail wagging in the exact way Yakko’s did when he was happy, his face so similar to hers. 

Angel looked up, holding Wakko at her side like a toddler, and waved. “Come on, Angie!” 

Angie blinked back tears, though she wasn’t sure why she was crying at all, and ran forwards, letting both of her parents envelop her in a tight, warm hug. She relaxed against their soft fur, letting herself fade into their fond embrace. She was safe, so long as she was here, with them. With her family. 

Eventually, Angel pulled away. “Oh, darling, I _love_ that new skirt on you!” 

“Thank you! Watch me spin in it!” she did indeed twirl, and her parents applauded. 

“You are truly adorable.” William assured her. “You’re going to have _such_ a wonderful celebration, we promise you that.” 

“Aww, you don’t have to do that for _lil ol’ me!”_

“Anything for our little girl’s special day.” 

Yakko pulled out a chair for Angie, waiting until she sat before taking his own seat. Wakko immediately started eating, and Angel said, “Now, we have a busy morning. Everyone will be arriving soon, you remember how to greet them?” 

“Yes, of course.” Why wouldn’t she? 

“And then we will have the celebration, and the banquet after. You remember what to do?” 

“Yes, of course.” 

“Do you think her tiara still fits?” 

“Of course it does.” William assured her. “Her crown always fits her, and always has.” 

“Of course.” 

“Now, dear-” Angel turned, then, smiling. “I also know you’ll want all your friends there, so you’ll have your own little table. Won’t that be nice?” 

“That’ll be great! Thanks, Mom!” 

“Hey, maybe we can go into town while nobody’s looking.” Yakko suggested, raising a brow. “Get you a new book!” 

“Just don’t bother the sellers too much, kids.” 

“We wouldn’t bother them if they didn’t bother us first.” 

“Town.” Angie said carefully, and then she smiled bright again. “Yes, we love going there. That sounds great!” 

Everything was great! 

Why wouldn’t it be? 

Mother made sure they were all looking presentable before they went out to greet the foreign guests. As she brushed crumbs off of Wakko’s sweater, she said, “Now, you remember what titles everyone has?” 

“Yes.” Yakko nodded. 

“And you remember how to properly bow and shake hands?” 

“Yes.” Wakko said. 

“What do you say to everyone?” 

“Thank you for coming.” Angie said.

“And what do you say if someone asks what you are?” 

“We’re annoying!” Yakko said. 

“We’re infested with fleas!” Wakko added. 

“We’re _cute!”_

“Those are my kids! Let’s go impress some stuffy people!” 

“Yay!” the children cheered, and Angel led them down the hall, holding Wakko’s hand as they descended towards the open front doors. 

Angie skipped along, and then when they stepped outside onto the pavement outside the doors, she immediately curtsied, welcoming everyone outside. She nicely and politely greeted all the royals from other kingdoms who passed her to enter into the castle, stopping to bow or shake her hand or tell her they were very happy to be here. She would respond that she was very happy they were there, too, thanking them for coming to her very special day. She saw Yakko going to chat with people, glowing and relieved that this situation was rewarding his extroversion. Wakko jumped up to the railing to sit on it, waving at anyone who passed by, kicking his legs and laughing along to whatever Yakko was doing. Her parents were off to the side, welcoming everyone in, happy to see everyone in the crowd whether they be a visiting royal or a nearby villager who just came to see them. Angie was just as happy. 

After a while, she began skipping down the bridged pathway, mainly so she could say hello to more people at once. When the village kids came running, she danced and bounced with them, spinning with Cindy and skipping along with Tinker and his big sister Katie. After she finished greeting Colin, she flapped her hands excitedly, leaning against the railing and laughing with joy. 

She started to head out, but then she stopped, something flashing in the corner of her eye. She turned, looking down at the river below them, and then she couldn’t stop staring. She leaned over the rail, her eyes fixed on the reflections in the currents below. 

She stayed like that for a very long time, until Yakko came up beside her. “Yo, sister sibling? You okay?” 

Her voice trembling, Angie asked, “Do you see that?” 

Yakko looked to the river, glancing through the waves. “What, the river? I see that every day. What, is there a fish or a bird or something?” 

“I…” Angie began, but then she shook her head. “Uh… yeah. It was a funny fish- I guess it swam away.” 

“Well, lemme know if you see it again! I’d love to see a funny fish!” 

“Ha ha, yeah! Now show me to the ballroom, I wanna get ready for my grand debut!” 

“Of course, come on!” 

Yakko took her hand, and they raced off, with Angie trying to push the image in the river to the back of her mind, so she could focus only on the wonderful day ahead of them, just another moment in their wonderful, perfect life. 

But still… that wasn’t _normal,_ right? 

The fact her reflection had long, braided, golden fur? 

Angie spun around the ballroom, laughing amongst guests. The ceremony would start in a few hours, so for now she was allowed to mingle with all of her great friends. She was so happy to talk with everyone, to simply let herself be a little social butterfly. She bounced and spun and showed off how adorable she was, and bantered with her friends, and danced along to the sweet, beautiful music. 

She danced for a little bit with her father, the two of them practicing traditional steps to an old ballad. When the song completed, he twirled her one more time and let her spin out, before she turned and curtsied to mark the end of their activity. Then they laughed and he ruffled her fur, and she took his hand and moved to the concessions. They chatted about nothing at all while watching Wakko eat half the table, and then Buttons came by on his patrol, making sure everything was alright. Angie stroked his ears, asking him if he’d had an eventful day or not and making sure to give him some nice scratches. 

But then it happened again; Angie was going past a wall, chasing Mindy across the floor in a game of tag, and then she stopped again, but this time it wasn’t due to a reflection. 

She had been running, without a care in the world, and then suddenly everything was gone. 

The room was black, dripping with some kind of damp muck, and an eerie, cold silence pounded against her ears. And right in front of her, was a towering black rock. 

She stumbled back, gasping in shock, only to realize another rock was behind her. She jumped, and one more burst out from the ground, its sharp point nearly hitting her, a blue glow flickering around its base. Angie let out a tiny scream, before turning and realizing more rocks were coming, surrounding her, trapping her… 

“Angie? Hey, you okay?” 

Angie blinked, and she was home again. In a nice little ballroom, with Wakko standing beside her, holding a cup of punch and looking only a little confused. She stumbled, shaking her head to clear it, as the sounds of pleasant conversation came flowing back to her ears. 

“Angie?” 

She looked up, smiling. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just got a headache all the sudden.” 

“You should eat more.” Wakko advised, before eating his entire cup in one bite.

“Yeah, probably.” 

It was probably just… aftereffects of her nightmare from last night. Yeah, that was it. She was just tired. She was fine. _Everything_ was fine. 

Everything was _perfect._


End file.
